


Land of Hope and Dreams

by starlight_and_seafire



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: (As if I could write anything less for my favorite couple), Continuation, F/M, Figuring Things Out, Force Tree, Happy Ending, Life After War, Post-Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, Romance, Slow Burn, Yavin IV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-23
Updated: 2020-10-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 01:28:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 21
Words: 71,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22865575
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/starlight_and_seafire/pseuds/starlight_and_seafire
Summary: The war has ended, but the fight continues. As skirmishes persist across the galaxy against the remnants of the First Order, the newly reborn Republic and its citizens must find their way forward.Poe Dameron, never the political type, is determined to find a way to continue serving the galaxy and to repay the faith that Leia Organa had put in him. At the same time Poe searches for his path forward, Rey continues on her journey to find her place in the galaxy, and to determine what it means to be both the last of the Jedi and the newly minted Rey Skywalker.Despite coming from places so far apart, the two just might find that their paths grow closer together every day.
Relationships: Poe Dameron/Rey
Comments: 301
Kudos: 236





	1. Chapter 1

Pilots in their orange flight suits rush down the hallway as Poe steps out of the way to let them pass.

Some new skirmish must have popped up somewhere, or some attack by the remnants of the First — or Final — Order, and at this point Poe doesn’t really care what they call themselves — while the Resistance — or the Republic, he’s not really sure what they’re officially considered now either — rushes to respond.

Not him, though. At least not right now. There’s a part of him that _wants_ to head to his ship, wants to take off and continue fighting, continue working to bring down the people too stubborn or too evil to finally surrender in the months following the Battle of Exegol (and he has faith that the last of the First Order _will_ be brought down, it’s only a matter of time) . . .

But the larger part of him, the one that has been in his cockpit for sixteen straight hours, leading a command meeting for four straight hours before that (and hence why he was so desperate to get into his cockpit for sixteen hours to run a recon mission), that hasn’t had a shower or proper meal in forever, practically screams at him for a break.

They had won a _kriffing war_ for god’s sake. He doesn’t really know what he’d imagined for his life after the war, but it certainly wasn’t this.

He drags his hands through his hair, frustrated and weary in equal measures.

Then he pats his hair back into place as he remembers why he’s headed to the command center and not to his quarters. He may still be General, but a few of the senators who had survived the Hosnian cataclysm, who were leading the charge to rebuild the Republic, had personally requested his presence, and he was too much of a military man to deny their request or to look completely disheveled when meeting them.

Then again, he had just been in his cockpit for sixteen hours and hasn’t had a proper haircut since before the war ended. He fusses with his hair a bit more before giving up on it as a hopeless cause, and hits the button to open the command center’s doors.

The small group waiting for him looks up as he enters, and they lead him into a little conference room just off to the side. He recognizes only one person in the entire group, Ransolm Casterfo. He doesn’t really know the man too well, but Leia had, and although she hadn’t talked about him often, Poe remembers the story of their time together in the Senate before the war. Concerned about the growing deadlock in the Senate, and the growing darkness in the galaxy, she and Casterfo had forged an unlikely friendship. But then the man had been manipulated by a colleague, Lady Carise Sindian, into exposing Leia as the daughter of Darth Vader, ruining her career. Although Casterfo tried to make amends and earned back some of Leia’s trust, Lady Carise had him framed for a bombing and an assassination. He had been arrested, and seemed to be set for execution.

That day, Leia had recalled with great sorrow, she had lost not only an ally, but a friend.

Yet not long after Crait, Poe and Finn had gone on a mission, and ended up rescuing Casterfo, who had been imprisoned in a labor camp set up by Kylo Ren and the First Order. The former senator had thus been recruited into the growing resistance.

Leia may have forgiven Casterfo, but Poe, ever protective of Leia, and protective of the burgeoning Republic, still had reservations about the man. Casterfo had been a centrist, Poe knew, and while not exactly a fan of the former Empire, or the Emperor and Darth Vader, he had been a great admirer of the order and precision exemplified by the Galactic Empire.

But Ransolm appeared to be an integral member of the group that stood before him today. Not surprising, considering of everyone in the group, he had probably the most prominent record in government . . . even if he had served on the wrong side of it before the First Order came along.

But Leia had trusted Ransolm, and Ransolm had worked diligently for the Resistance after his rescue, so for now, Poe has a grudging respect for the man.

Ransolm smiles, and asks after Poe, his work, his colleagues in the Resistance. The conversation moves slowly and methodically, but not surprisingly, to the allies they’ve gained since the fall of Palpatine and the Final Order, and the subsequent clean up efforts to get rid of the stragglers that continue to terrorize the galaxy.

But it’s not long before Ransolm and the rest of the group get to the point that’s brought them here today.

“I’m sure you’re aware you’re a recognizable face — a recognizable figure, really — in the new Republic. Your name is known across the galaxy as one of the heroes in the fight against the First Order,” a woman, who he discovers is named Mirram, says. She’s tall with short, thinning black hair cropped to her chin and slicked back from a high forehead. Still, her violet eyes are sharp, and if not exactly friendly, they are honest. “We need you in the government with us.”

“In the government with you? You mean, like as a liaison between the new Republic and the Resistance?” Kaydel’s effectively been put in charge of that position. There’s no one better to coordinate between the new government and the organization that’s effectively serving as their military, then someone who had served close to General Organa’s side throughout the war.

Mirram laughs, though it’s not unkind. “No, General Dameron. We need a strong voice to advocate for the citizens of the outer rim, and to ensure that the citizens are completely on board with the new government. We want to head off the problems from last time, if at all possible. We need you to step up and serve as Yavin IV’s senator.”

Poe blinks, stunned. With the government decimated, and no real leaders left following the death of Leia Organa, he knows the senators who had survived the Hosnian cataclysm and the First Order’s attempts to imprison or kill them were racing to find representatives from as many of the star systems as possible.

He doesn’t know the woman who had been speaking to him personally, but he had heard Leia speak of at least a few of the beings who stood before him now, knows that they are determined to lead the galaxy into a new era, to reform the government, to establish a stronger democratic foothold that wouldn’t be so susceptible to the likes of First Order sympathizers who had helped bring the old government down.

And apparently, they want Poe to serve with them.

Poe laughs, still in shock and more than a little uneasy. If they didn’t look so serious, he would have thought they were playing some kind of joke on him.

“Me?” At their nods of confirmation, Poe laughs again. “Why me?”

Mirram, who Poe sensed had taken on the role of the group’s leader to some extent, raises an eyebrow in what Poe thought might be amusement, if she didn’t look so stern “Yes, you. That sector of the outer rim needs a strong voice, someone to lead them, if they’re to really come on board with the Republic. It’s important to the galaxy, for many reasons, most of which I know I don’t need to tell you about.” The woman smiles, almost softly, for the first time since they had begun talking. “And it was the birthplace of the Rebellion. You know as well as I do how important that is to the galaxy. It’s a symbol of hope as much as the starbird insignia itself.”

Poe answers the smile with one of his own. Yavin IV is home. It always has been and always will be dear to his heart, as much a symbol of hope to him as it was to the wider galaxy.

He sets his memories of home aside for the moment though, and refocuses his attention back to their current conversation. “But still, why _me_?”

“You’re from that part of the galaxy, and I know you’ve always held strong political beliefs. You know where the old government went wrong. More importantly, you already know what needs to be done.” Then she gestures out towards the command center where Resistance soldiers continue to run around in a bustle of constant activity. “You also led a ragtag group of people to what was an improbable victory—”

“That was Lando,” he protested.

The woman smiled wider. “And Lando’s the one who recommended you.”

“He recommended me?”

“Said that you easily understood the lessons that took him years to figure out,” Mirram responds.

Poe casts about for what that could possibly be, and finally has to ask, “And what was that?”

“That when it comes to improbable victories and impossible odds, you know what it takes to win,” she says, and Poe follows her gaze towards the command center, as she continues speaking. “You know that when people work together, they can take on obstacles that seem insurmountable. You’re a natural born leader. People listen to you, they respect you, and they believe in you. They’ll follow you wherever you need them to go. And that’s why we need you with us.”

Poe’s suddenly caught in the memory of sitting at Leia’s deathbed, lost and forlorn, unable to comprehend just how they could beat the Final Order with her gone. When Lando appeared, Poe, desperate for advice, and honestly, desperate for hope, had asked him how they had won the rebellion.

With much more confidence and fortitude than Poe could ever begin to comprehend in the face of so much tragedy, Lando had told him, “We did it together.”

Minutes later, Poe found Finn and did the smartest thing he’s ever done. He made Finn his co-general.

He thought he felt Leia’s presence beside him at that moment, amused and approving in equal measure. He had been her righthand for years, as she encouraged him and taught him how to step up and become the leader she knew he was always meant to be.

But like Lando had said, Poe knew they had to do it together.

And now he feels Leia’s presence beside him once again, though he can only hope that she understands when he says, “Thank you for the offer. It’s a great honor, truly . . . but I have to decline.”

Mirram’s eyebrows jump high enough to almost reach her hairline, while next to her, the Twi’lek’s lekku twitches in . . . annoyance, maybe? Surprise? Poe’s unsure, but he doesn’t have time to consider it when Mirram asks, “You say it’s a great honor, but then decline?”

Poe sighs, shifts his weight from foot to foot. “I’m not who you’re looking for. I’m not a politician. That’s never been my skillset. And honestly . . . that’s not what I want either. It’s not how I imagined my life after war going.”

Poe wonders what Leia would think of his turning down their offer. Even after her death, Poe despairs of disappointing her, of failing her.

It’s Ransolm who asks, “And what did you imagine for your life after war?”

Poe doesn’t have a particularly well-thought out response for that. He’s not entirely certain he ever really thought he’d make it out alive, and even in the aftermath, he’s been so busy, and so tired, that he still hasn’t had much time to think about it. “Honestly, I thought maybe I’d go back to Yavin IV for a bit, but other than that, I haven’t given it much thought. But being a politician full time? That’s not me.”

The senators exchange long looks with each other, and then finally, after one more assessing gaze, Mirram’s lips twitch up in a smile as she says, “I have an idea.”

***

As his ship hits hyperspace, Poe makes sure the autopilot is set before heading to the main hold, stroking his hand along the sleek walls as he walks down the hallway.

It was a bit of a surprise really. He never expected that a benefit of saying no to government leaders would be his own personal ship, even if he’s a little disappointed it wasn’t his x-wing (though he’ll get another one soon enough, he imagines). Then again, for all of this ship’s new features and efficient technology, it didn’t feel nearly as good as flying the Falcon had, with all its quirks and history, and he finds himself missing that old ship.

That thought inevitably leads him to Rey.

She had been so quiet after returning from Exegol. Sure, there were the initial happy tears, her quiet sniffling as she pulled him and Finn closer towards her, the quiet moments shared huddled closed together only broken when all their voices came together with murmurs of _you’re alive, you’re alive_ and _we made it_ and _we did it_ , and so many other pleased declarations that while he can’t recall the exact words, he remembers the feeling of it all. Relief, victory, love, sorrow, happiness, joy.

It’s a wonder anyone can hold all those feelings at once.

He thinks in many ways she bore the brunt of it all, especially at the end. He knows bits and pieces, knows that she had died and then lived. She told them a little about it, clutching his and Finn’s hands as they had stepped off together, finding some place secluded and private just for themselves in the immediate aftermath.

And he understands trauma and its ramifications, he truly does, haunted to this day by torture and death and grief, so much grief, even if he can’t begin to imagine what she’s been through. And after, after it all — she grew quieter. Or at least she had with him. He knows that while the three of them all love each other, are bonded together as much as anyone could be, he knows his relationship with Rey is more . . . unclear. His relationship with Finn is filled with words, almost always happy and delighted, while with Rey . . . they bantered, they fought, they challenged and teased each other, they even shared some quieter, contemplative moments . . . but he knows that she shares most of her quiet, contemplative moments with Finn, shares her deepest thoughts with him. They have a bond he can’t quite completely understand.

_What did you want to tell Rey?_

_You mean, you’ll tell her when Poe’s not here?_

He realizes he’s been standing in front of R2-D2 in the main hold for, well, awhile now.

He blinks, almost sure that the unmoving face of the droid is somehow . . . judging him? Laughing at him? He’s not sure, but he goes to sit on the bench beside him.

“You ready, buddy?”

With an affirmative beep, R2 extends his recorder so Poe can prepare some holomessages.

He flips through the list of messages he needs to respond to, starts recording replies to some of the regional leaders in the outer rim who remain in the aftermath of the war. When those are complete, he prepares messages for some of his old teachers at the military academy, asking for their help, and if they couldn’t afford that, then maybe just some advice.

After the last of those are finished, he looks down at his chronometer, sees that almost three hours have passed since he had begun his task. He sighs and rubs his temples.

R2 asks him if he wants to take a break.

“Just need a minute,” he says, quickly standing to grab a glass of water. He wonders, for what must be the fiftieth time today, how Leia managed to handle all of the logistics and the paperwork and the meetings and the messages. It’s almost incomprehensible to him that somehow she managed to do it all without going crazy.

He wishes, for what also what must be the fiftieth time, that Kaydel was here to help him out. But she’s halfway across the galaxy coordinating the relationship between the new Republic and the military, so she’s a little busy.

When he returns to R2, there are still another half dozen messages to go through. When he completes them, he sits back, gulping down the last of his water, quickly getting lost in his thoughts.

He’s still so unsure and uncertain about everything, still doesn’t feel like he can be the leader that they need him to be.

And Leia . . . why had she thought that he could do this?

He still has no idea, but he’s determined to try all the same.

R2 interrupts him to ask, “Are we done recording for now?”

He thinks about it for a brief moment, but shakes his head. He’s finished the last of his priority calls, but he wants to take a few minutes for his friends, the ones who make all this worthwhile.

He addresses the next message to Finn, who is off on his own mission with Jannah and Lando and his own team. Poe’s a little disappointed that he can’t talk to his friend on a live call right now, but he understands why they’re so busy.

“Hey buddy!” He begins cheerfully. “I was so happy to hear your last message. Hopefully the droids you have will help you sift through all those datapoints. I can’t even begin to imagine how much information you’re gleaning from those databases. But can I just say how absolutely incredible you are? It’s a big task but if anyone can find the stormtrooper’s families and reconnect them, it’s you. I’m so proud of you all, and I wish I could be there to help, but I’ve got some big news to tell you myself. But my destination is quickly approaching, and I’ve got a few more calls to make, so I’ll have to tell you about it next time. Hope to see you soon too!”

He ends the message to Finn and then tries to reach Beebee in a live call, but when he can’t, he records another message.

“Hey buddy!” He begins cheerfully once again, grinning at the feeling of déjà vu that rolls through him at those words. “I’ve got some big news and I can’t wait to tell you about it. But I thought you might want to know that I’m headed home to Yavin IV for now. I’ve got a big project to work on, and I hope you’ll be happy about it.”

He pauses for a moment, and then, “I miss you, buddy. But I know you’re where you need to be for now. I hope you’re taking care of Rey — that you’re taking care of each other. I’m going to send her a message now too, but I just wanted to say hello and check in with you. Talk to you soon, Beebee.”

He ends the call and is immediately hit with an intense wave of loneliness. He’s been so incredibly busy since the war ended, that he hasn’t really had time to realize just how terribly he misses Finn and Beebee and Rey.

He thought that by the time he got to recording the message to Rey that he would know what to say to her. He hasn’t heard from her as often as he’s heard from Finn, and in those messages, she’s been . . . quiet.

But he misses her just the same. He hopes that she knows that he cares for her deeply, that he considers her one of his closest friends, just like Finn and Beebee. But he worries, does their bond, as deep as it is, only consist of bickering? He knows that there was tension between them, the two of them often having competing ideas of how best to approach the war, but he couldn’t have just imagined all the rest of it, could he? Or maybe it was just a relationship born and bred of war, and now that the war was over, she was already forgetting him?

Well, she has Beebee, so he knows they’ll see each other again soon enough.

The last he heard from her she was traveling, unsure of her final destination but eager to learn more.

She had also mentioned she had just finished building a lightsaber.

He knows that it would be something to see, an impressive sight for sure.

He nods at R2 to begin recording. “Hey—” he starts and then suddenly realizes _hey buddy_ doesn’t feel quite right, and coughs a little as he suddenly stops talking.

He motions to R2 to begin the message again.

“Hi Rey,” he starts again, his words coming out a little smoother, at least at the beginning. But he flubs his way through the rest of the message, asking what she’s up to now, where she’s at, has she spoken to Finn recently?

Then, “Some of the senators wanted me to join them in government, can you believe that?” He shakes his head, still in disbelief. “I declined, but I think I’ve found something else to do instead. I’m headed to Yavin IV now.”

He continues, “And you know, I was thinking about it, and it seems like it’s your kind of place. I think you’d like it. It’s a jungle and that means . . . well, it’s humid and rainy and way too hot a lot of the time, but it’s also so green and there’s so much . . . _life_ there.” And he stops, lets himself linger in his memories of home for a moment. “If you ever wanted to visit, I just thought you should know you’re welcome to come. You’re always welcome. For however long.” He smiles into the projection for a long moment, before the alert informing them that they were about to come out of hyperspace breaks into the otherwise quiet of the ship.

He smiles, a bit rueful. “And it looks like I’m just about there, so I have to go. But I hope you’re doing well. And I hope to see you soon, I really do.” He pauses and finishes. “Take care, Rey.”

He stops recording and heads to the cockpit.

Within moments, he’s setting down in a large clearing near a familiar homestead.

And then he’s running down the ramp and straight into his father’s arms.

His father clutches him close, and as tears stream down both their faces, Kes says, “Welcome home, son. I’ve missed you.”


	2. Chapter 2

It’s early morning, just past dawn, when she lands.

She walks across a long stretch of sand to get to her destination, before stopping, almost startled, as she takes in the old Lars homestead illuminated beneath the binary suns. It looks almost drowned, covered in a thick layer of sand that must be at least a few feet deep.

Something awful happened here, once upon a time. She can almost smell the smoke, feel the heat of the fire, the terror and the pain, and something almost like satisfaction. She imagines an old woman, chin tilted up, as she hides a secret she was entrusted with so long ago, knowing that, at least for the moment, the secret remained untouchable.

Yet, she also feels joy and so, so much love. An almost impossible amount of love, beginning with one singular, amazing, powerful presence in the Force and connecting down through the generations.

She hums, considering, taking in the full measure of the homestead.

The familiar droid at her heels beeps an inquiry at her.

“This is where Luke grew up,” she tells it with a smile. “This was his home.”

At another inquiring beep, she grins. “Yes, I think he was very happy here. Maybe he wanted more than just this, but there was a lot of love here. Family. Joy.”

She wants to take a closer look at the home and spies a piece of paneling on the ground, a memory springing unbidden to her mind. She grabs it and sits, sledding down the sand, laughter bubbling out of her at the action.

Jakku was horrible in many ways. But she had joyful moments there too.

“I’ll be right back,” she calls up to BB-8. The droid has elected to stay up top, not terribly fond of the sand.

She thinks she’ll give him an oil bath later. He deserves it. Beebee’s so good and kind, to her and everyone, especially to that little droid who elected to remain behind with the ship, and Beebee probably doesn’t have too many good memories in the desert, either.

With a soft smile, she tells him she’ll return soon, that she just needs a moment to explore, to take this all in.

She’s here to say goodbye to Luke and Leia. To lay them to rest in a place that has happy memories for one of them, and a happy connection, to her brother and her ancestry, for the other. It’s not a perfect solution, but their legacies will be together here — or at least their lightsabers will — while their souls will be reunited with each other and Han and their other loved ones in the Force.

She hopes that at least a part of them will stay with her, for as long as they can.

She doesn’t have much family after all.

But now she practically stumbles inside, her feet for once, finally, unused to the sand, to bundle Luke and Leia’s lightsabers up. It causes something to catch in her throat, emotion suddenly welling, and she doesn’t know what to do with it all.

She breathes in. She breathes out.

She walks back outside, kneels, and within moments, the lightsabers are buried deep, and she hopes its owners are as at rest as the lightsabers she just buried.

But a part of them lives on, and as she switches on her own lightsaber, she feels pieces of them linger, until her blade springs forth as golden as the morning light.

An old woman stops in front of her, asks her who she is.

“Rey who?”

There’s a flickering movement and then she sees them, and instinctively knows the answer, knows it somewhere deep, somewhere far past her blood and bone.

It’s as simple as anything, as certain as anything, to answer “Rey Skywalker,” and it feels like the final puzzle piece in this part of her journey locks into place.

They’re her family.

She briefly thinks of the other Skywalker, at least by blood, even if not by spirit, not like the spirit of Luke and Leia, and the powerful force lingering in the distance, body at rest deep in the sand. She’s glad he stepped back into the Light at the end, grateful that he saved her life, even if it could never even begin to make things right . . .

But Luke and Leia are her family. Finn is her family, and BB-8 and D-O are, too. And Poe is, wherever he is now, still so busy with the Resistance and rebuilding the Republic.

They are her family.

But as the day wears on, she realizes she might know who she is, but not what she’s meant to do.

And honestly, there’s a part of her that is almost . . . bitter about it. She’s done everything that was asked of her. She grew up, lonely and alone, on the harsh, barren landscape of Jakku. She fought, and trained, and fought some more, laying her soul bare, making everything inside her wounded and raw, so . . . what? The Force could be balanced? The Skywalker name could be redeemed? What was this all for?

She’s done what she was called to do. That part of her journey was done.

So, what’s next?

She trips back out across the sand, stands next to BB-8, her mind whirring with possibilities.

There’s so much to see, so much to learn, to explore. She can bury herself for hours in the ancient Jedi texts, an insatiable appetite to learn everything she can about the Force, the galaxy, the Jedi and where they went wrong. She wants to go out and find anything, everything that might have been left behind, everything new there was to discover, turn it over in her hands, analyze and examine it, until all their secrets were revealed to her.

Jakku was a barren wasteland. Now there’s a whole galaxy open before her.

But with her options so open, she can hardly begin to decide on the next part of her path.

She keeps thinking back to her dreams, something golden, something green, something brimming with life and wonder and so much . . . she doesn’t even know if she has a word for it yet.

But where once there was an island, now there’s a tree, and blue ephemeral light, glowing so brightly that it outshines everything else, and it calls to her . . .

BB-8 tells her he just received a message from Poe, and asks her for a few minutes to process it.

She smiles, so fond of the little droid. “Of course, Beebee. Take however much time you want.”

It wiggles in place for a moment, almost anxious, concerned for her.

“I’ll be fine alone for a few minutes, I promise. I won’t go far.”

A few minutes later, as she wanders around the outside of the Lars homestead, staring out into the distance once more, she hears an excited beeping quickly approaching.

BB-8 turns the corner, sees Rey and tells her a message arrived for her, too.

She stares at the horizon for a moment longer, wondering whether she’ll ever figure out just where she’s meant to be, and then —

“Alright, Beebee. Why don’t we see what the message says?”

***

_“You’re always welcome. For however long.”_

Poe’s words replay in her mind as she walks down the ramp of the Falcon. She immediately sucks in a deep breath, the scent of the jungle and so much _life_ filling her lungs, the humidity settling into her skin in a way the heat of the desert never did.

But there’s something else in the air too, in the energy that surrounds her. It’s familiar.

Before she can investigate that feeling more fully, her attention is drawn to the house across the clearing as the front door opens and a familiar face appears.

“Rey?” calls Poe, his voice confused.

She waves at him, even as BB-8 takes off past her, speeding towards Poe quicker than anything.

She follows at a more sedate pace, D-O keeping close to her heels, and sees Poe wiping his hands on a towel before he kneels down to give BB-8 a belly rub.

“Hey, buddy! It’s so good to see you,” he says, the droid chirping delightedly in response. Poe looks up as Rey stops just behind the droid, and he stands, stuttering towards her slightly before stopping, clutching the towel in both hands. “It’s good to see you, too,” he says, voice softer this time. “I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

Confusion still lingers in his eyes, and suddenly she’s worried that maybe he was just being polite, maybe he didn’t really mean the offer for her to come visit. She knows she’s not the most well-versed in human social cues; maybe he didn’t mean the invitation literally?

“Your message — I thought . . . is this alright?”

Poe blinks. “You want to stay awhile?”

Rey bites her lip, uncertain, and nods.

Then she hears Poe make a pleased noise. “Of course! I told you that you were welcome here for however long you wanted! I just meant that I hadn’t heard back from you, so I wasn’t expecting you, and well,” he says, gesturing towards the house. “We’ve been doing some spring cleaning in addition to all the other stuff. I’ve been in the attic most of the day, bringing stuff downstairs, so it’s a bit messy. We can get a room ready for you though, not a problem.”

“We?” she asks, glancing around, but it’s just her and Poe and the droids outside.

Poe’s face lights up even more, if that was even possible. He looks so much more cheerful now than he had since they first met. There were moments he seemed happy during the war, but now, this? This is something else.

“Kes! You need to meet my dad, he’s inside!” Then, even with his arm already outstretched to lead them in the direction of the house, he hesitates. “That is, if you wanted to meet him? It’s okay to say no, if you want some time to rest first.”

“No. I’d like to meet him,” she says, smiling at Poe as he leads her inside to meet his father.

She hadn’t really imagined what it would be like to meet Kes Dameron. Poe never really talked about him too much, too busy or too distracted (maybe even too painful, she hazards a guess, to think about your loved ones while fighting a war), but even the vague inkling she had about the man hadn’t fully prepared her for this.

For one, he’s the spitting image of his son, except for an inch shorter and his hair, cropped close to his head, shot through with more silver than anything else. But the eyes are the same warm brown, and the crinkles at the corners, while much deeper than Poe’s, are exactly the same.

Then there’s the cheerful smile as he hustles out of the kitchen to greet her, pulling to a stop just in front of her, and says, with his hands outstretched in greeting, “And this must be the famous Rey I’ve heard so much about, the hero of the galaxy!”

“Dad,” Poe chides, though it’s laced through with fondness.

Kes just grins at his son. “Poe didn’t tell me you were coming, but I’m glad to finally meet you!”

“I’m afraid that’s my fault, Mr. Dameron. I — I guess I forgot to respond to Poe’s message, I’m really sorry.”

Kes waves off her apology. “It’s Kes. And no matter, Poe can get a room ready for you easy enough. Sorry about the mess, though.”

She glances around the living room. It seems like every available inch of floor space has been taken over, crates stacked up next to boxes brimming with old . . . are those military supplies? But underneath it all, she sees the warm, rich colors of the rug and the blankets slipped over the back of the couch, photos of what must be family and friends adorning the walls, and a variety of knickknacks sitting on shelves.

It’s warm and cozy in a way she’s never really seen before.

She thinks she likes it.

“What do you like to eat, Rey?” Kes calls to her, already headed back into the kitchen. “I was just thinking about what to make for dinner.”

Poe’s grinning at her as she fumbles for an answer. “Anything’s fine.”

Poe’s laughing then, and she’s suddenly hit with the feeling that’s the wrong answer.

Kes pops his head back in. “You sure?”

“Yes,” she responds tentatively.

“You got it,” Kes says cheerfully, quickly disappearing back into the kitchen.

“I hope you’re hungry,” Poe tells her. “Now he’s going to make _everything_.”

***

After pointing out a few more things downstairs, Poe shows her upstairs, briefly pausing at a closet to grab some fresh linens, before leading her to a guest bedroom.

“That’s my room,” he says, nodding further down the hallway, before indicating another room close by. “And bathroom’s there. Dad’s downstairs.”

Then, even with his hands full, he manages to open the doorway to what’s going to be her room.

The walls are painted a soft green and when she pulls back the pale yellow curtains, she’s met with an expansive view of the jungle beyond.

She smiles as she takes in the scene, briefly contemplates opening the window to see if she can hear the soft hooting of the animals again, smell the rich, humid air, but decides against it for now. She can hear Poe moving around behind her, and she figures she’ll get a chance to get back outside soon enough.

She turns to help him — or at least starts to — but her attention is pulled back to the jungle, or at least a portion of it where a path is carved out between the trees, leading to . . . something.

“You alright?” Poe asks, and this time she does turn, sees him paused in mid-movement, his brow furrowed, from where he’s laying out the fresh sheets.

“I’m fine,” she says, already reaching out to grasp the other end of the sheet and guiding it into place, trying to shake off the pull of whatever was out there.

She can still feel it though as they walk back downstairs. Kes is cooking up a storm in the kitchen, all the while BB-8 is chattering to him, D-O nestled close to his friend’s side. Next to them was R2-D2, who she knew remained with Poe after the war ended, and she greeted him fondly.

They’re barely in there a moment though before Kes suggests, “Why don’t you show her around, Poe? Give her the lay of the land?”

She nods at Poe’s inquiring look and he smiles at her, clapping his dad on the shoulder before reaching around to his other side to grab a handful of the berries Kes had laid out.

“I saw that!”

“I know!” Poe calls out over his shoulder, grinning, as he heads to the door, Rey on his heels.

“You think that just because you’re my son you can help yourself to whatever you want?”

Poe grins back at his father. “Yep!”

“Eh, you’re probably right,” Kes admits, and then “And you, Rey—” and she turns, already planning to assure him she’ll always ask first, before he says, “You can definitely help yourself to whatever you want, anytime.”

Poe gasps, clutches a hand to his chest, mock-offended. “I see how this is!”

“Yep!” Kes replies cheerfully, before shooing them out the door, BB-8 electing to stay behind and catch up with Kes, as does R2-D2 and D-O, who still hovers close to his friend. “Have fun, you two!”

She smiles at the easy camaraderie between the two men as she and Poe head out the back door, a large yard greeting them. There’s a garden off to one side, mostly vegetables she can tell, though along the edges closer to the house, there’s a wide variety of plants and bright, colorful flowers.

Poe points it out to her, naming a few of the more unusual species, and then grins at her. “If you ever want to take a closer look though, let Kes know. He’s the gardener in the family. He’ll be glad to show you around it.”

“I would like that,” she says, already studying the layout of the garden. “But what about you?”

“What about me?”

“Do you garden?”

“Nah. I have a black thumb, at least when it comes to this garden.” He laughs again, a bit ruefully almost, his eyes taking on a faraway look as he glances over his shoulder back towards the jungle and the path that caught her eye earlier. Then that look vanishes, replaced by a familiar smirk. “My talents lie elsewhere.”

Then he leads them towards a large building past the garden. As he shows her the inside of it, farm tools and other sundries intermixed on its long shelves, he points out a long workbench in the corner. “I haven’t really used it since I got back, but if you ever want some space to tinker, have at it. There’s plenty of tools and materials around here, just help yourself.”

He leads her back outside and continues to show her around the compound. He points out a colorful animal, which he tells her is called a woolamander, as it hoots and races across the tree branches. Then he indicates another path towards the front of the house that he tells her leads to the main village, and offers to take her there to look around whenever she likes.

Even as she tries to take it all in, the size and scope of the homestead and the sheer, stunning amount of life around her, she’s pondering the change in Poe since she last saw him, right after the war. In the year since she had known him, they had bickered, sometimes even outright fought. They both had ideas about the right path to take, and while it wasn’t ever malicious, this sort of easygoing attitude was unfamiliar and unexpected. She wonders if she could ask what brought the change on, or was that overstepping?

She thinks maybe it’s because the pressures of war which might have made him grumpy back then weren’t around so much anymore. Though she wonders why he’s back here, now, instead of still leading the Resistance, or whatever they’ve decided to call the new Republic’s army, against the remnants of the First Order.

“I’m sorry, am I talking too much?” Poe asks, startling her out of her thoughts.

She realizes she’s been staring at him a bit too long as they walk along the edge of the forest around the homestead. “No,” she says with a shake of her head.

“You sure? You can tell me to shut up. It’s alright. I know I tend to ramble sometimes, he says, grinning.

She shakes her head again, a faint smile pulling at her lips. “I’m sure. I’m just trying to take it all in,” she says, gesturing around her.

And it is a lot. It’s so very different from what she grew up with, even different from Ajan Kloss. There, they were still trying to hide, trying to keep the fight going, and while the damp, humid air is so very similar, and there’s the same lush green surrounding her, here it’s more . . . peaceful. Warmer in a way that has nothing to do with the climate. There’s light and goodness and joy infusing this land.

She breathes in deep as they walk forward once more, Poe promising to show her where the elder Dameron grows the koyo melons, on the other side of the compound, past the cluster of guest houses.

He offered one to her, and surprised not only him, but also herself, when she elected a room inside the house. She told herself — and him — that she wanted to make it easy for both BB-8 (and by extension, D-O, who almost never left the other droid’s side) to be close to both of them.

And it was the truth, at least partly. But honestly, she also wanted to be near other people — near her friend. After so long alone, his presence was steadying, comforting, even if she didn’t know exactly where they stood at the moment.

They’re halfway across the clearing, Poe chattering away, when she stops suddenly, her eyes widening as she feels the same pull from earlier, but this time even more intensely. She looks to her side and sees the same narrow path between the trees she had seen from the window earlier.

Poe’s halted too, and he just looks back at her, his eyes questioning.

For the first time since she arrived, she talks first. “I’ve seen this place before.”

Poe startles minutely at this. It’s small, but she still catches it. “You have?”

She starts down the path, Poe following a step behind her.

“I have,” she says. For all that it feels like she’s being called here, there’s something else in the feeling emanating from this place that feels almost personal, even private. Something just for Poe, something just for Kes. She suddenly wonders if she’s intruding and she stops to face Poe, biting her lip again, once more uncertain. For all that she thinks that they’re friends, at least based on the last year of war and the way they had bonded together, she suddenly wonders if she’s overstepping.

But Poe’s looking past her, a thoughtful expression on his face. “I think I know why.”

He gestures forward once more and soon the path opens up to a clearing.

There, in the center, stands a large tree, and with no amount of uncertainty, she knows immediately that it’s a Force Tree. There are so few in the galaxy, and she’s only seen one once before. This . . . this is unexpected, and absolutely incredible.

She studies it in awe, an almost ethereal blue-green glow emanating from its leaves as it stretches towards the sky. She can’t see them, but she senses the roots are deep, sturdy, stretching far underground.

Then, that glow seems to stretch toward her, toward Poe, wrapping them both up in something warm, something golden, and she breathes in deep at the feel of its energy, its light, its beauty.

Suddenly, she feels . . . calm and content, in a way she didn’t know she ever could. She feels steady, something almost grounding washing over her, even as everything, the universe and all its unlimited possibilities, seems wide open before her.

She glances back at Poe, sees he’s looking at her with a small, pleased smile, and he gestures towards the tree as if he was introducing an old friend.

For the first time since the war ended, she smiles, broadly, freely.

She doesn’t know where her path is going to take her yet, but now, at least, she feels like she’s taken the first step.


	3. Chapter 3

Poe yells out a goodbye to his dad as he hustles out the door to his awaiting speeder, BB-8 and R2-D2 hot on his heels.

It’s not a far drive to the ancient Massassi temple, but he’s already running late.

_Not going to be able to sleep in much longer_ , he thinks, waiting for the two droids to secure themselves into the speeder, but then he spies Rey, who’s halfway across the clearing practicing saber forms in the soft morning light. He has to stop for a moment, the saber swinging gracefully through the air as her body moves powerfully along with it, the sunlight practically creating a halo around her. It takes him a moment to realize he’s staring, but how could he not?

She’s a force of nature . . . and somehow, that force of nature is practicing saber forms in front of his house.

He stares a moment longer, unable to tear his eyes away, before BB-8 chirps at him, letting him know they need to get a move on.

He waves a goodbye to her in case she’s seen him across the yard, but she just continues moving gracefully from one form into the next, and with another inquiring beep from BB-8, he starts the speeder and takes off.

The paths are familiar to him, much like the speeder’s controls, and he grins wildly as takes the turns maybe a little too quickly, the wind whipping through his hair and a spike of adrenaline rushing through his blood.

_Probably gonna have to be a bit more responsible too._

But then, with the temple looming straight ahead of him, a few transports resting nearby in the clearing, he smirks.

_Or maybe not. They’re going to be pilots, they better get used to it._

But for now, a contingent of familiar, seasoned pilots who had arrived overnight are waiting for him and he stops smoothly (if still a little too fast) next to the group looking up in awe at the temple.

“So this is where the magic happened,” a very familiar Keshian says to him with a wide grin.

“Iolo!” Poe runs forward, wrapping the other man up in a hug, thumping him cheerfully on the back a few times.

“Commander! Or should I say General?” Iolo responds with a laugh.

“Neither, if you know what’s good for you. At least as long as the students aren’t here.”

Iolo gives him a jaunty salute and says, “Sir, yes sir!” and Poe just responds by giving him a playful shove before turning to the woman standing next to him, her long brown hair done up in a thick braid hanging over her shoulder.

“It’s good to see you, Jess,” he tells her as he wraps her up in a hug too.

“You promised me koyo and a tour of the temple if I brought you supplies.”

“And if you helped get things set up, too. Don’t think you can get out of that and still get koyo,” he says, waggling his brows. “Sure I can’t get you to stay though?”

“Teaching’s not really my wheelhouse, but who knows?”

“If ever you change your mind . . .” he says, as Jess smiles, shaking her head with a laugh.

Then he spies a woman with a shock of blonde hair atop her head descending down the ramp of one of the transports, and Poe squeezes Jess’s shoulder and excuses himself as he walks over to Karé Kun.

“How you doing?” he asks, smiling at her, even if his voice is softer than it had been just moments before.

Karé looks exhausted, bags under her shadowed eyes, her skin paler than he’s ever seen it before. But there’s something else there too, a determination, steel set firmly in her spine. “Been better. But I’m glad to see you.”

“I’m glad to see you, too,” he says, and the two come together in a hug, warm and familiar despite the lingering sadness, a testament to the strong bond between the two and years of friendship, even in the face of their lingering grief.

He’s known — had known— Snap for years. He considered the man his best friend. And in the days following his untimely death, he’s shed an impossible amount of tears for him.

But he knows it doesn’t hold a candle to Karé’s grief, and as the hug lingers, he hopes she can feel the strength of his love for both her and Snap, hopes that she can garner some strength for herself from it too.

She pulls back with a watery smile. “Once we were the students, and now . . . can you believe we’re about to become the teachers?”

“I still can’t believe they suggested this. How could I say no?”

Poe was shocked at their suggestion, maybe even more shocked at how the idea settled into his mind and his gut so easily, as if it fit, as snug and _right_ as anything. It made sense that, in the aftermath of the destruction of the Hosnian system where the former naval academy had been located, in the aftermath of the war, that the new government would need to rebuild the decimated military.

The Resistance, along with everyday people across the galaxy, had saved the day, but it wouldn’t be enough in the long run.

So, they had proposed a new academy, but this time spread across a handful of locations, to protect the burgeoning military and its students if — _when_ — the First Order or its ilk returned. And Poe thought they would return, if the tens of thousands of people who showed up at Exegol were any indication. The darkness couldn’t stand the spread of light.

But for his part, Poe still couldn’t believe he was put in charge of the academy in this quadrant of the outer rim, with the old Massassi temple, the former home of the Rebellion, the hope of the galaxy, serving as the new school.

He grinned whenever he imagined Leia’s reaction to the news. He had always been a good student, at least at the academy, but it was still hard to imagine him as a teacher.

He’s asked a few of his former colleagues to come help teach. While Karé and Iolo agreed, Jess decided to keep her focus on running missions for a while longer, determined to keep the lingering sparks of the First Order from becoming inflamed.

Poe had also been contacting a few old friends, a few mentors from his time at the naval academy, or at least the ones that made it through to the other side of the war, hoping to enlist some of them to come back to teach. He had even talked to Wedge a handful of times since the war ended, though less about the academy and the reconstruction of the government, and more reminiscing about Snap and long ago memories. Wedge was one of Poe’s favorite teachers, a great mentor to him, and Poe will never forget the look on his face when he was told about Snap’s death. The death of his stepson — though really, Snap was Wedge’s son in everything but blood — devastated the man.

But it wasn’t just finding people to come help him teach. While the rooms and halls were littered with Rebellion artifacts, equipment and supplies that could be repurposed for the new school, he needed more. But like always, his old friends came through for him, and they showed up bearing new supplies that didn’t have so much dust and dirt caked into its layers, and they started to work unloading the transports of what they needed to make the new academy a success.

_Or at least what they needed to make a start_ , he corrects, taking in some of the outdated equipment. A lot, far too much really, was damaged or lost as a result of the fighting. _Maybe Rey might help revamp some of this stuff?_

He smiles at the thought. She’s spent more than a few days tinkering away in the shed, working on some of the old droids from around the farm. But then his smile fades. She still seems pensive and stressed far too often, her shoulders never relaxing completely, except for the moments she’s in there, her hands buried deep in wires and coils, chattering away with BB-8 and D-O.

Even when she joins him and Kes for meals, she seems quieter than she ever was at the base. He’s glad that the two droids seem intent on keeping close to her; he hates the idea of her being alone. He hates it now, and while she had seemed so intent on connecting with other beings at the old base, there were times the pressure sat far too heavy on her shoulders and she seemed to isolate herself to train harder and harder. It was those times, especially when he and Finn headed off world, he’d leave BB-8 behind to keep an eye on her. BB-8 was happy to do so, of course, and it settled some of the anxiety in Poe’s gut to know that Rey had a friendly face to keep her company if the pressure became too much.

He’s so lost in his thoughts and the work and catching up with his friends that he startles when his chronometer buzzes with an alert. He looks down at the time, realizing the day passed in an absolute blur.

He claps his hands together and announces, “Time to pack it in!”

Iolo’s head peeks up over a now-mostly empty and unpacked crate. “Food?”

“Food,” Poe confirms. “C’mon, dad’s making a feast.”

Iolo hustles to his feet faster than Poe could bat an eyelash. Iolo’s never had Kes Dameron’s food, but between him and Karé talking about it so often, no wonder the rest of them are excited.

Plus, while lunch had been filling, the work they’ve done has made all of them absolutely starving. Even Karé nudges his shoulder and urges him along faster.

It’s a quick speeder ride back to the compound from the temple, and they arrive to the view of Rey halfway across the clearing, once more centered in the sunshine, floating a couple of feet off the ground as she meditates.

“That is so cool,” Karé says, leaning in to whisper to Poe with a grin. “It’s not something you see every day . . . unless you’re you, I guess.”

Poe grins back easily as he pulls his eyes away from Rey. “Yeah, I guess we are pretty lucky here, huh? Though it’s not everywhere you can find a Force Tree, either.”

Karé’s eyes narrow a fraction then her grin widens before she jabs him in the side with a finger. “Well, are we just going to stand here or are we going to go over to say hello?”

Poe turns to look back at Rey, who now stands staring at the group, her feet firmly on the ground. He lifts a hand in greeting, just as he had this morning, and Rey finally smiles and starts walking their way, as he leads the group forward to her.

Within moments, Rey’s exchanging hugs with Jess and Karé and Iolo, her smile wide and eager, though he notices her eyes softening when she hugs Karé, the hug lingering longer than the rest of them.

He knows Karé’s grief is still fresh in many ways, despite the months that have passed since Snap’s death. He had seen it in the words of her messages, seen it on her face in their holocalls. Even today, she had stayed close to his side, their longstanding friendship with each other — and with Snap — providing a small balm of comfort to the lingering pain.

He’s glad to see Rey being there for her too, even if their friendship hadn’t been as long. War brings people close together quickly, and their mutual interests in piloting and, if he was being honest with himself, teasing him, only made their bond deeper.

Kes comes out moments later, and then Karé is throwing herself into his arms, the older man whispering something in her ear. Although it’s been awhile since Karé had been on Yavin IV, she had been a frequent visitor during their academy days and their time in the navy.

She pulls away after a long moment, her hand wiping surreptitiously at her eyes, and then Kes is leading them into the house where dinner awaits.

Poe rests a hand on Karé’s back, leaning in close to whisper, “You okay?”

“I will be,” she replies with a shaky smile.

He sits next to her at dinner, the group crowding around the table and devouring the food Kes has made, the man beaming delightedly at their compliments even if they couldn’t stop eating it long enough to tell him without their mouths being full.

_Well, maybe that’s part of the compliment._

_Or maybe they’re all pilots and aren’t too well-known for their manners._

Poe chuckles to himself even as he shovels his own forkful into his mouth, listening to the conversation that flows easily around the table.

It doesn’t take him long to notice that Rey seems especially quiet tonight. Even if she hadn’t been talking much, he thought that at least during the last few meals between the three of them she had seemed more at ease, even when she was quiet.

But maybe that’s it? Maybe now she’s quiet again because it’s more than just the three of them. It’s been awhile since Rey’s been amongst this many people, and it’s not exactly like she’s had much experience with it throughout her life. She still sometimes had trouble with crowds even on base or on missions.

Jess asks her a question, and while she answers it, Rey then easily directs the conversation back to the group.

Poe’s brow furrows in concern, wondering what is going through Rey’s mind, wondering how he can make things easier for her, and promises to himself that he’ll keep an eye on her.

He hates to see her looking so sad.

***

Rey’s huddled in the corner of the shed Poe had shown her that first day. The long workbench was covered in droid parts that she had been tinkering with, hopeful it might be of some use to Kes in his koyo field, while the corner nearby she had made into a nook all her own.

Within a short period of time she had constructed a bench of sorts, and Poe had given her some extra pillows and cushions they had laying around the house. She’d often bring the ancient Jedi texts out there and study, making notes on her datapad all the while, before heading over to the workbench to tinker with the machinery.

Using her hands always made thinking through her problems easier. She still has no idea what to do, but at least the manual labor distracts her from the worst of her anxiety, allowing her to mull over her options.

And it is here where Poe finds her one early morning. She had taken her food to the shed and was already poring over one of the texts while the rest of Poe’s former squadron were inside eating breakfast, when he shows up

“There you are,” he says, as he pokes his head inside the shed door.

“Here I am,” she responds easily, her head cocking to the side when he just remains standing at the door.

After a long pause he asks, “Can I come in?”

She blinks, surprised. “Of course. This is your shed.”

“So what? You’re using it. If you want privacy, that’s okay too,” he says, still remaining at the door.

“Oh.” She smiles, pleased, as she waves him inside. “C’mon in.”

He looks around, his gaze dragging over the droid parts scattered on the workbench. “Dad’s been meaning to get in here forever to work on them. He’s going to love this.”

“I’m glad. He told me he’d been busy, and I’d like to help.”

He eyes her again. “You know you don’t have to do it, if you don’t want to. You’re our friend. You don’t have to work to stay here.”

“I know,” she replies, though a part of her, developed as a result of her time on Jakku, still finds the idea strange. “But I’d like to.”

“Okay then,” he responds, and then grows silent for a moment as he continues gazing around at the part of the shed she’s made her own.

She hopes it’s alright, she thinks it is, but as the silence stretches on, she finally asks, “Did you want something?”

“Oh!” Poe startles, looking back at her. “Sorry, I got lost up in my head,” he says, laughing as he makes a waving motion beside his face. “Actually, I was popping in here to see if you wanted to go into the village with us. Karé wanted to pick up some fabric, and Jess and Iolo are coming too. They were talking about cooking something later, so that should be interesting.”

She laughs as Poe pulls a face at the last comment. She’d love to go into the village. Poe’s told her a little about it, but she hasn’t had a chance to go down there yet, and Poe and Kes have been busy at the farm and the temple.

“Are you sure?” she asks. She doesn’t want to intrude. She knows he’s exceptionally close to his former squadron. She doesn’t know if he’s just asking her to be polite or if he honestly wants her to go with them.

His brow furrows. “Of course. If you want to come, I’d love to have you there,” he says before quickly adding, “we’d love to have you there.”

She smiles, and sets her book aside to stand. “I’d like that,” and she would, she thinks. For the first time in days, she feels the cloying, ever-present anxiety receding as she thinks about what the village will be like.

Within moments, they’re all squeezed into the speeder with Poe at the controls. Karé sits next to him in the passenger seat, while she, Jess, and Iolo are squished together in the back.

It’s a tight fit, but she doesn’t mind Jess’s shoulder pressed against hers, even when Jess and Iolo jostle each other for more elbow room. But soon enough, the two of them are singing some sort of jaunty tune, Karé looking over her shoulder at them and rolling her eyes.

“It’s too early for that,” Karé says, though she can’t quite hide the hint of a smile on the corner of her lips, but then Poe starts singing and she finally gives in and joins the song too.

Rey’s unfamiliar with it, but she hums along occasionally. When Poe glances at her over his shoulder, she gives him a brief grin, even as Karé hits his thigh with a “Eyes on the road, flyboy.”

Poe grins at the other woman and complies.

Before she knows it, Poe’s guiding them towards a street that houses a handful of stores and homes and a few larger buildings which Poe notes hold the local government offices and other services. Many of the buildings are painted warm, bright colors, the jungle providing not just a picturesque backdrop to the village, but also a happy, lively noise that fills the air. But even as the whisperbirds soar and sing overhead, there’s upbeat music that pours out of one local store. Karé heads straight for that one.

“That’s Sozu’s place. She stocks up on a lot of home goods and fabrics and such.”

“What’s Karé looking for?”

“Not too sure, honestly. She’s always liked making stuff with her hands, she just said she had some ideas for a new project or two.”

Jess and Iolo head for a clothing merchant, and Poe and Rey follow at a more sedate pace, browsing the aisles until she overhears two of the other customers talk about the local bakery.

“Bakery?” Rey perks up at the statement.

Poe hums, as he eyes a pair of pants, brightly colored and adorned with stripes. “Maybe for Finn,” he grins as he points at them. “But yes, there’s one a few doors down.” At her look, his smile turns even fuller. “You want to check it out?”

She nods, and Poe guides her out of the store, only stopping to let Jess know where they were headed.

During her time in the Resistance, Rey had discovered that she had a taste for sweets, and for something fresher than the reconstituted bread she had on Jakku. And while Kes kept a steady supply of treats at the house, she’s eager to try more.

When she enters the little bakery, she’s immediately taken aback. The warm, rich air wraps around her like a blanket and she breathes in deep. A part of her wants to close her eyes to really enjoy it, except the sight of rows upon rows of bread and baked goods behind the counter is too good to resist.

There’s a handful of other people in the shop, but she ignores them altogether as she feasts her eyes upon the food, before turning to Poe, her smile wide.

“I can’t believe this place even exists,” she says in awe.

Poe’s smiling back at her. “I figured you would like it. What do you want?” he asks, already digging around in his pocket for credits.

“Oh no, I couldn’t,” she says, reaching her hand out to stop him, as if she even had the credits to pay for it herself.

Poe shakes his head. “My treat. I’m not eating alone, and I’ve got my eye on a few things here.”

By the time they finished ordering, they had plates filled with bread and butter and jam, not to mention several bite sized cakes and cookies, sitting on their table with large cups of caf next to them.

They both tear into their meal (and she has to call it a meal, it’s too much otherwise, but she feels practically wild and decadent and absolutely delighted as they tear into so much food, despite having breakfast not long ago.)

Poe holds up a cookie and bites into it thoughtfully. “The first time I tried this cookie I think I was four or five years old. This place was new back then, it was started by one of mom’s friends from the village. She took me here, and almost every Centaxday from then on, me and mom and dad would come here. Even after she died, dad would bring me, to keep her memory and the tradition alive, you know? At least until . . . well, it stopped when I was a teenager. I stopped it, really.”

Poe’s staring at the table now, where his hand that’s not holding his cookie plays with a napkin, and he looks so sad, so melancholy, that she can’t resist reaching her hand out to place her hand on top of his.

He glances up at her, looking as surprised as she feels. But she feels his thumb twitch enough to squeeze against her fingers as he gives her a soft smile.

“Sorry to bring the mood down,” he says, trying to brighten his smile even as his eyes remain sad.

She shakes her head. “No, thank you for telling me that.”

His smile becomes softer, and he slides the plate with tiny cakes on it closer to her. She grins and picks one up, biting into it happily.

“Whenever you want to come back, just say the word.”

Her eyes brighten. “I’m pretty sure that’s always,” she teases. “Though I’m sure you’re probably going to be too busy soon enough.”

“I’ll make time.”

He says it like a promise.

She blinks, then smiles. She doesn’t exactly know what to say to that, the weight of it still so unexpected in a lifetime of loneliness, and she finally settles on, “You say that now, but with all the students and the teaching and the piloting . . .”

“I still can’t believe it,” he says with a shake of his head. “I’m going to be a teacher, running one of the new academies. Sometimes I still can’t believe that this is my life.”

“But this is what you want?”

“I think so. At least, it’s a step in the right direction, I think. I’m home, you know? So that’s a huge positive for me. I get to see my dad and my friends, and the ones who aren’t coming here, I’m sure I can find a way to get them to visit and teach for the day,” he says with a wink. “I get to pilot and help people learn how to become pilots and still keep the galaxy safe and . . . it’s not perfect. I’ve never been a fan of the bureaucratic side of things, but I think the pros will outweigh the cons.” Then he laughs. “Hopefully.”

He sips at his coffee. “What about you?”

He’s opened up to her, and with all the ideas swirling around her head, she wants to open up to him too, find some relief from the pressure in her mind and on her shoulders. “I’m . . . trying to figure out what my next step is.”

Poe smiles at her, kindly. “Yeah, I understand that. Seems to be the time for that.”

“It’s just there are so many possibilities, so many different ways to enact them, that it feels almost insurmountable. Do I roam the galaxy looking for people who need help? Do I try searching for the history of the Jedi and other Force users, and what do I make of their philosophy and their teachings? Do I start a school? Do I do none of that? Or do I try to do all of that, and if so, how would that work? I keep meditating, hoping the Force will guide me to the right answer, but it’s not really guiding me anywhere yet.”

It’s more words than she’s put together at once in what feels like months, but she can’t be embarrassed about it, not when it feels so good to finally talk about it, and not when Poe looks back at her, his gaze thoughtful. “Maybe it’s letting you find your own path,” he says after a long moment’s consideration. “It’s asked a lot of you already. Now, it’s giving you the opportunity to choose it yourself.”

Rey hums in response as she considers his words. Then, she feels a hand rest atop hers, just as it had in the reverse moments ago, and she looks up to meet Poe’s eyes.

“Whatever path you choose, I know it’ll be amazing.”

She turns her palm up, squeezing his hand in hers. “Thank you,” she says, softly. Poe nods, and squeezes back.

They return to their desserts in comfortable silence, both of them lost in their thoughts. When they finish, Poe goes to return their plates and cups, while she stashes a huge hunk of their remaining bread in her bag. _It’ll keep_ , she thinks, and she doesn’t want to waste food.

They grab more caf to go and as they stroll around the village Poe points out other homes and businesses and tells her more stories of their occupants and his life on Yavin IV. As he talks, she realizes that she’s not just growing more and more fond of Poe, more certain of her relationship with this man now that the war is over, but as she watches other people stroll about, kids playing in the street, she’s also growing more fond of Yavin IV and everything that makes it up, too.


	4. Chapter 4

In the late afternoon sunlight, she fills her lungs deeply with Yavin IV’s humid air, lets the calls of the whisperbirds and woolamanders wash over her, as she sits with her back to the Force tree and lets her mind float freely.

She’s not meditating, not really. She’s far too distracted for that. She tried to spend her morning reviewing the Jedi texts, hoping for some inspiration, a clear path forward, but she had to stop when it was clear her mind was nothing but a jumble of thoughts, going round and round without any definitive answer.

Then she hiked through the jungle, occasionally pulling out her lightsaber to work on her forms, dancing across fallen logs to work on her balance, even climbing a tree to get a better view of the area, only to have her breath taken away by the beautiful, vast vista before her.

She had never felt so tiny as she had when she was perched up in that tree. She had never felt like such a perfect, integral part of the Force, either, just another part of the puzzle that made the galaxy work in beautiful harmony.

There, perched in that tree, she had let her mind drift. There was the homestead, where Kes worked peacefully in the koyo orchard. Then there was the village and its citizens, and then further past that, there was the Massassi temple, where she sensed Iolo and Karé and a handful of others working together, fulfilled in their purpose to get the academy ready for the first of its students to arrive in a few weeks.

She sensed Poe as well, his signature warm and golden, comforting as always, and cheerful and happy too. She smiled as she let the feeling of it wash over her.

Everything was peaceful.

She wished it could always be this way.

But then her mind started racing once again, and she slowly climbed down the tree and finished her hike before returning to the homestead.

It’s there, with her back to the Force Tree, the sun slowly beginning to set, that she senses his familiar presence approaching.

“I thought I’d might find you here.”

“Am I that predictable now?”

Poe shakes his head with a grin. “Absolutely not. But this is the best place to sit and relax and think.”

“It really is,” she replies as she presses her hand to the bark, hoping that the tree can sense her gratitude.

Poe takes a few more steps forward, closer to her and to the tree. “I think I spent more time here than anywhere else when I was a kid. Climbing its branches, sitting up there for who knows how many hours, just thinking.” He pauses, thoughtfully, looking up to the high branches. “At least until . . .” He pauses again, shakes his head.

“Until what?” she asks, helpless to her curiosity, wondering what could cause that look of — what? Sorrow? Shame? — to cross Poe’s face.

He walks over, closer to her now, but his attention is fully on the tree, his eyes gazing upwards at the branches even as he presses his own hand to its bark. “I used to help my dad out in the koyo fields, before the military, before . . . everything. One time, I wanted to finish my chores early so I could take a joyride in mom’s A-wing to see a meteor shower up close, but I had to finish my chores first. So I rigged the koyo picker with a pair of old podracer engines and . . . and I ended up damaging the tree. Cause I was young and foolish.” He shakes his head, clearly ashamed, his hand reaching up towards his chest, brushing gently against the chain that hangs from his neck. “My dad made me nurse it back to health, but even if he hadn’t told me to, I would have, because this tree . . . this tree is everything. It’s important.” He glances at her, his lips just beginning to tilt upwards in the barest hint of a smile. “But clearly you already know that last part.”

She nods slowly, before reaching her hand out to squeeze his bicep gently. “Thank you for telling me that.” She gazes at him for a long moment, honestly moved at the way he trusted her with the story. It was obviously a moment he wasn’t proud of, but he told her anyway.

She smiles at him, sees the action reciprocated on his own face, their eyes never leaving the others as the moment stretches on.

Then Poe’s brow furrows, and the moment seems to be broken. “Oh, right,” he says with a small huff of a laugh. “I came out here to tell you that Kes has dinner ready.”

She perks up, her hands clapping together as she turns to head to the house. After a few steps she realizes Poe’s not following behind her, and stops and looks over her shoulder. Poe stands with his hand still pressed to the tree, but his eyes are on her, an expression that she can’t quite decipher on his face.

“What are you waiting for?” she asks, partly teasing but partly curious for his answer.

He blinks, then grins at her, giving the tree a pat or two before saying, “I’m right behind you.”

***

Lightning flashes in the sky, the roar of thunder filling her ears, and she can do nothing but stare upward in horror.

She’s failed. She’s failed them all.

A tear makes its way out of the corner of her eye, fear and hopelessness swamping her, as she watches her friends ships slowly fall out of the sky, obliterated in heat and fire.

She senses Poe’s terror, and Finn’s, and everyone she’s ever fought for, everyone she has ever been willing to die for, is ready to die for, their signatures rising in the Force before blinking out entirely.

_Be with me. Be with me._

But no one comes for her. No one comes and there’s nothing but lightning filling her vision, springing forth from her own fingers, from behind her too, and with one last giant, devastating roar —

She wakes gasping in her bed, her body shaking violently, the rumble of thunder still echoing in the air, the storm and all its chaotic energy raging outside.

She wipes at her eyes, surprised yet not, when her hand comes away soaked in tears, terror and helplessness and adrenaline still coursing through her body, her heart beating madly in her chest.

Another flash of lightning fills the room, and she shoves the covers off her body, kicking the sheets off from where they tangle around her feet, and runs for the door.

She doesn’t stop running until she’s outside, her pajamas soaking immediately in the heavy rainfall, her feet bare and quickly caked in mud.

But at least she can see the sky, can see the trees and the homestead behind her. She doesn’t care about the frenetic flash of lightening above her; instead she’s comforted to see it coming from the sky and not from her or some ghoul behind her.

She’s still shaking though, desperately trying to get a full breath in, to slow it down, to tell herself it was just a nightmare, only a nightmare.

“You okay?”

Her body is already filled with so much fear and terror that she doesn’t even startle at the unexpected voice behind her, though some tiny voice inside her, somewhere almost buried but not quite, wonders whether she already knew he was there.

She faces him, and she knows she’s wild-eyed, chest heaving, rain pouring down around her, making her hair stick to her face and neck.

His eyes widen at her appearance, and he steps closer, slowly, cautiously, like he’s approaching a cowering animal, its teeth bared, but stops more than an arm’s length in front of her.

She wants him closer. She doesn’t want him closer.

She doesn’t know what she wants.

“What happened?” he tries again.

Her mouth opens and closes. She doesn’t know what to say. The lightning flashes again behind her and a shiver racks her body.

Poe must see the movement, concern written all over his face, and he looks past her towards the sky, and she sees his face change again.

“Did you have a nightmare?”

It felt like so much more than a nightmare, but she nods anyway.

“Was it about Exegol?”

She nods again.

“I get them sometimes too,” he says, softly. “Mostly though, I dream about the Finalizer.” He takes a step closer, hands twitching at his side and she wonders if he was thinking about hugging her. She might like that, she thinks. But he stops, and says, “But you’re here on Yavin IV, now. It’s safe. He’s gone, they’re gone,” and she knows he’s talking about Palpatine and the remnants of the Final Order or whatever they called themselves, “and you’re safe here. We’re all safe. I promise. We’ll keep you safe.”

His words may be simple and straightforward, and the realistic part of her knows there is no way he can promise something like that, but his soft words are comforting anyway.

She sniffs hard, realizes she’s still crying, and then a loud crash of thunder causes her to jump.

Poe looks towards the sky, concerned. “We should get inside, out of this storm.”

She shakes her head no. She can’t go inside yet.

“Okay, we can stay out here then.”

She wants to tell Poe to go inside, that he doesn’t need to stay out here with her, but she still can’t quite bring herself to speak, and she doesn’t really want him to go inside yet anyway. She needs him here, to see him safe and whole beside her, his warm presence comforting in the face of all the fear lingering inside her.

It’s as if he can hear her thoughts, and he says, “I’m not going anywhere. I’m not leaving you.”

A sob tears from her throat, her hand coming to cover her mouth.

Poe’s hands twitch at his sides again, and she can’t help it, she steps forward, her arms raised, and then he’s holding her, muttering soft words into her ear as she cries on his shoulder, his strong arms holding her firmly, but still so gently, against him.

For the first time that evening, the feeling of safety and security begins to overtake the fear and helplessness inside of her.

The rain continues to fall around them, the sky still lit up every few seconds as the storm rages around them, but he just holds her, one hand stroking her back, his shirt soaked with the rain and her tears.

Before she realizes it, her breathing has finally slowed down, her breath matching his, as he hums some quiet melody in her ear.

“It came from me.” It’s short and simple, but it’s the first words she can bring herself to say. She can feel Poe tense, knows that he’s pulling back to look her in the face as she talks, but she just clutches him tighter. She feels safe with her head nestled into the space between his neck and shoulder, and she can’t lose that yet.

He understands and relaxes once more, his hand continuing its soothing strokes, as he asks, “What did?”

“The lightning. It came from me.”

“On Exegol?” he asks, confused.

She remembers Chewie, the horror she had felt then, how everything became twisted and magnified in her dream until it was her and Palpatine bringing down the fleet on Exegol. “In my dream. He was destroying you, and I couldn’t do anything. I could only watch, watch as all of you died, and I was helpless, but then I realized it was coming from me, that it could have been me destroying all of you.”

“It was just a nightmare. That would have never happened. You never would have done that.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. You’re good. And light. You would have never hurt us like that. You never would have turned.”

She sobs at the certainty in his voice, and he continues whispering in her ear, how she’s not alone, that she never has to do any of this alone, how she has people who care about her, who will stand beside her always.

“I’m here,” he says. “I’ll always be here. You don’t have to do this alone.”

He continues holding her even as her sobbing quiets once again.

“When I was a kid, my dad told me a story,” he begins, and she can feel a wave of strong emotion pass through his Force signature, can feel his throat bob next to her face as he swallows hard. “It was at the Battle of Endor, and he was on the ground surrounded by stormtroopers. And he had thought all was lost. All of it. Everything. But then he looked up, past the trees, into the blue sky, the Death Star just barely visible, into the battle that was being fought up there.”

Something sweet, something melancholy, passes like a wave through him. “Then he told me that he knew Shara Bey was looking down on him then, that in whatever fight she was in the middle of, that she was looking down on him.” He pauses, and she senses that he’s holding something back from her right there. She’s curious, but she doesn’t want to push. It feels like too much of a private memory anyway. “He said he was worried in that moment, but he wasn’t scared. And I’m not sure I entirely knew the difference when he told me that. But now I do. On Exegol, even when that lightning was coming at us and disabling our ships, I knew you were down there. And I was worried for you, but also — I knew you were down there and that you were fighting for us. You would always fight for us.”

He takes a deep breath, rests his cheek against her hair and says, “Just like I would, you hear me? You’re not in this alone.”

She clutches him tighter, rubs her face against his shoulder, hopes he’ll forgive her for the mess of tears and snot she’s leaving behind, even if the rain has already ruined their clothing.

A flash of lightning sizzles through the sky, and several moments later, comes the rumble of thunder.

The storm is finally moving away.

His voice is soft against her ear. “You ready to go inside?”

She lifts her head and nods, clutching his hand tightly in hers as they walk back to the house.

***

When Rey had run outside into a raging thunderstorm to escape her nightmare, Poe’s not entirely sure if he had been asleep or awake when she made her mad dash, as groggy and sleep deprived as he already was. He’s not sure if he had already been awake and somehow heard her hurried steps, the doors opening and closing, or if he had been awoken from his doze.

He’s not sure about any of that, but he’s glad he could be there for her, his heart hurting for the pain she continues to go through. He knows that sort of trauma well, his sleep being plagued by his own nightmares . . . at least, when he could get to sleep.

He figures that’s why the next night, in the early hours of the morning, he’s making double the amount of tea and handing Rey a mug as they settle onto the couch together and flip on the television.

They might not be able to escape their nightmares entirely, but at least they can help each other through them.

The next night they settle onto the porch steps, eyes facing up to the clear, starry sky, and he tells her about the time his parents took him camping. He couldn’t have been more than five, maybe six, but they set up a tent in their backyard, just on the edge of the field, and laid out there all night.

His father had built a small fire, and they made these sweet treats by roasting marshmallows over the flame until they were golden and delicious.

“I found out you could set them on fire though,” he says with a grin. “They tasted even better that way.”

“Of course you would set them on fire.”

“You calling me a pyro?”

“If the shoe fits,” she replies, drily. Then, “What did it taste like?”

“I don’t even know if I could describe it,” he says after a long moment. “Just gooey and sweet and delicious. And then smushing them and a little chocolate between some sweet crackers? Sheer perfection.” He turns his head slightly to look at her face, and with a soft smile, he says, “You know what? Next time I’m in the village I’ll pick up the right supplies. You need to try it.”

The smile she gives him is blinding.

He turns his face back to the sky and after a moment, laughs.

“What is it?”

He shakes his head, a bit ruefully. “After that, we all laid down on the grass and mom pointed out the constellations in the sky. Told me all the stories. But it was late, and my parents fell asleep,” and now his smile broadens, “but of course I was still hopped up on too much sugar and somehow still hungry, so I snuck back inside and raided the pantry. I think I ate two entire bags of crisps and a couple of extra chocolate bars I found.”

Then he winks at her, playfully. “Back then, I think I put even your appetite to shame.”

She laughs, loudly, before slapping a hand over her mouth, glancing worriedly over her shoulder towards the dark house where Kes and the droids still slept. She chuckles a bit quieter, then says, “I don’t know, I think I could surpass that.”

“Probably,” Poe concedes with an easy smile.

She glances over her shoulder again and Poe follows her eye. He thinks he knows what’s she thinking. “Hungry?” he asks.

She nods and in moments, they’re in the kitchen, raiding the cupboards, shushing each other when their laughter gets too noisy.

He wants to tell her that Kes sleeps like the dead, can sleep through practically anything, except he’s having so much fun that it totally slips his mind.

Now that his nightmarish, sleep deprived nights are slowly being filled with happy moments, and goodness and light, and Rey, his days seem to be getting easier, and he finds the tasks that once seemed never-ending, almost insurmountable, are passing by in better spirits.

That’s how he finds himself several days later, standing in front of one of the old conference rooms at the temple which had been repurposed to be a classroom, running through potential lesson plans and training drills, when BB-8 comes rolling up to him with an urgent message.

Poe excuses himself from the group he’s been talking with and follows the little droid to a secluded corner outside.

“The message is from Friend-Finn,” BB-8 informs him cheerfully.

Poe grins. He had informed his buddy that every message from Kes, Rey, and Finn were to be designated urgent messages and to interrupt him if necessary, and to be frank, he’s glad for this interruption.

He was always a good student, one of the best at the academy, and had always enjoyed his lessons, but he had no idea that actually putting the lessons together could be so _boring_.

“Fantastic! Play it, buddy,” he informs BB-8, who promptly projects the hologram of Finn in front of him.

Turns out, the message _was_ actually urgent, even if it hadn’t already been designated as such by virtue of the sender.

Poe rushes back to the homestead, sees Kes talking to Rey, who is standing off to one side of the Falcon, tools in hand as she rushes to make repairs.

“I take it you got Finn’s message?” he asks Rey as he hurries up to them, although its unnecessary considering the look of urgency on her face.

“Yes, I’m going to meet up with him and his group on Dantooine before we head in.”

Finn hadn’t asked him to go and he gets why. He’s talked to Finn often about the new academy, and the other man knows how close he is to the school being opened up.

Still, anxiety burbles in his stomach and his shoulders tense, as he watches Rey get ready to leave.

 _She can handle herself_ , he reminds himself, then corrects, _they can handle themselves._

But he can’t quite get rid of the anxiety that makes his throat tighten, and he swallows hard around it.

He wishes he could be there. He _should_ be there, even if it’s just to watch their back.

Rey’s hands still in the guts of the ship and she looks at him, assessingly. “I’ll be back soon,” she says. “I promise.”

He swallows hard once more and nods at her. “I’m gonna hold you to that.”

In minutes, he’s standing in the clearing, his neck craning upward as he watches the Falcon ascend higher and higher until it finally disappears from view.

Kes hums, low in his throat.

Poe startles slightly. He had forgotten Kes was there.

Poe turns to face his father, who’s giving him a thoughtful look before a slow smile blossoms across his face and he chuckles.

Poe just returns Kes’s gaze, absolutely confused at his father’s expression.

Kes just claps him on the shoulder. “Why don’t we have some tea?”

Poe nods, and follows him inside, but not before giving another long, lingering look towards the sky, and whispering a prayer to the Force.


	5. Chapter 5

Rey’s gone for several days, her and Finn and all the rest of their team radio silent as they attempt a mission to free a village that had been suddenly overrun by the remnants of the First Order army and their sympathizers.

Finn hadn’t exactly given him many details of this particular operation in his earlier message, but Poe tries to keep his mind occupied elsewhere. He tries not to focus on how particularly vicious the remnants of the brutal army could be.

But when he tests the flight simulators to make sure they’re operational, and the words _MISSION FAILURE_ blink at him from the screen in front of him, he realizes he’s been less than successful.

He climbs out of the flight sim, only to have Karé clap him on the shoulder, laughing at him as she says, “Oh, you have it bad, Dameron.”

He arches an eyebrow at her. “What are you even talking about?”

“You’ll figure it out,” Karé replies, even as she laughs at him some more. “Caf?”

He nods and she walks over to the desk, where a thermos of the hot drink sits, a gift from Kes as they left this morning. She pours cups for both of them, and they lean against the wall with their drinks.

They’re both quiet as they sip at their caf, and he senses the shift in her mood before she even says anything.

“What’s on your mind?” he asks, softly.

Karé rests her head against the wall, her eyes closing. “Same thing as always.”

“I miss him, too.”

“I know,” she says, her head shifting towards him just enough to glance at him, her smile soft but sad. “But I think he would be happy about this.”

“Happy about this? He always told me how much he hated the academy,” he says with a laugh. Snap had always been vocal about how much he disliked the classroom.

“Snap never liked sitting still. He’d much rather learn by doing.” Karé sighed. “But I think he would’ve liked teaching. He would’ve liked showing others the ropes. He’d seen how Wedge could inspire his students. You both have. But more than that, I think Snap would’ve liked you teaching.”

Poe’s eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “You think so?”

“He loved watching you fly, said that he could always learn something new from you. And we saw how you were with the rookies. You never made anyone feel less than or stupid whenever they asked for help or for you to show them something. You have a lot to teach the next generation. Maybe this time we can finally avoid another war.”

Poe stares out across the empty classroom, his throat tightening with emotion. “I hope so.” He swallows. “I hope I can make him proud.”

“You did. You already did.”

For a long moment, they stand in silence, both lost in their memories, Poe for his fallen friend, his fallen comrade, and Karé for her lost husband, her lost love and partner.

Then he hears a deep sniff and he turns, already opening his arms to his friend, who steps into them and presses her face to his shoulder.

He holds her as she cries, thinking of those he’s loved that he’s lost, and those who remain, trying desperately not to let his thoughts stray to a planet parsecs away.

***

Hours later, Poe gets the alert on his comm just moments before the Falcon appears in the sky above the homestead.

“Looks like the Jedi has returned,” Iolo says cheerfully, waving his bottle of beer in the general direction of where the ship lands in the large clearing on the other side of the house.

Kes is already standing, dusting his hands off on his pants as he does so. “Bet she’s hungry,” he says, already heading into the house, no doubt to heat up some of the leftovers from their dinner.

Poe huffs out a laugh. “Probably a good bet.”

He gives BB-8 a pat on his dome as he stands. “Why don’t we go say hello?”

The droid cheerfully agrees, already rolling away to welcome back his favorite person.

Poe grins. He can admit that now. Poe might be BB-8’s oldest friend, but hells, Rey’s probably Poe’s favorite person, too.

She’s already walking down the ramp when he rounds the corner. She’s tired, her shoulders sloped a little more than usual, but she perks up when she sees him . . . well, probably because she’s seen BB-8, who picks up speed now that he’s seen her too.

Poe hurries up as well, eager to see Rey, not to mention he wants to make sure she’s okay. He knows she’s fully capable of handling herself, as is Finn and his team, but all missions are dangerous. And if he can’t be there himself, he at least wants to make sure Rey’s returned at least relatively unscathed.

He’s relieved when he doesn’t see any visible injuries, and he smiles, instinct already guiding his arms outward as if to embrace her, faltering only slightly as he realizes she might not want to hug him.

Her smile falters a little too when she sees him approaching her, and suddenly, he stops, worried that he’s overstepping. Maybe she doesn’t want to be touched, doesn’t want to be hugged. “Sorry, I was — I tend to hug people in greeting, you can tell me if that’s —”

His words are cut off though when she smiles brightly and practically throws herself into his arms.

He lets out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, one arm wrapping around her waist as the other one goes to her shoulders, his hand gently resting on the back of her neck.

For the first time in days, he feels the anxiety that had been coiled tightly in the pit of his stomach ease, and he breathes in deeply.

“I missed you,” he says, not able to stop himself from admitting that. “Things just aren’t the same without you here.” Finally, he pulls back, even though neither one really steps away, and takes a good long look at her face, looking for any bruises or scratches, anything that might hint at an injury. She’s not always the best about taking care of herself, and he wonders if he should have stopped in the house first for the bacta and first aid kit. But she’s smiling and her hazel eyes are almost glowing, the gold flecks in them catching his eye, and he falters for words before asking, “How’d the mission go? You make it out okay?”

Her cheerful expression wanes as something heavy descends on her face. “It was . . . intense. But everyone’s okay.”

“You’re not injured? The first aid kit’s just inside . . .”

“I’m fine, Poe,” she says, her smile returning. “How are all of you?”

He wants to figure out why she had suddenly tensed at his question, what happened on the mission to cause it, but she seems intent on sidestepping the conversation for now, so he turns and gestures toward the house.

“Everyone’s doing just fine,” he says, BB-8 beeping an agreement beside them. Rey kneels to check his antennae, as Poe says, “We’re just finishing the last of the prep for the beginning of the school term. People start arriving the day after tomorrow. But everyone missed you.”

“I missed them, too,” she says, standing to follow him towards the house.

“Kes is heating up some stew from dinner for you, if you’re hungry.”

She perks up at that. “That sounds wonderful.”

By the time they walk inside, Kes is waiting for her with a warm bowl of stew and a hug. He hands her a drink and a plate of rolls before they walk outside to join the rest of the group by the fire.

They’re all huddled close together around the fire, even if the nights on Yavin IV never get quite so cool that they need the heat, but it’s a comforting feeling anyway.

Kes guides her into the empty chair between him and Iolo, and really, there’s nowhere else for her to sit, not when that had really been the only space open anyway.

But still, Poe can’t seem to help but feel a little disappointed.

He walks over to the other side of the fire and settles back into his chair that’s pulled close to Karé’s, taking a sip from the beer he had left behind when he had seen Rey’s ship land. And a part of him remains focused on Karé, checking in with her often, keeping her engaged in the conversation, still concerned about her in the wake of her crying jag earlier in the afternoon, the wound left behind by Snap’s death still far too fresh.

But another part of him is focused on the space across the fire where Rey sits eating her dinner. She’s enthusiastic as always as she eats, complimenting Kes’s cooking between — and really, even during — bites of food. And then there’s the way she looks in the soft glow of the sunset, the flames catching the highlights in her hair, red and gold dancing brightly around her.

He’s never seen anything more beautiful.

At one point he catches Rey’s eye, and he wonders what she’s thinking, her eyes soft and he thinks maybe even a little sad.

Other than the compliments to Kes, she’s been quiet, thoughtful, even worried, her eyes downcast.

His heart clenches, and he wonders what exactly happened on that mission. He wants to make her feel better. He wishes he could make her happy.

Then, suddenly, he exclaims, “Marshmallows!”

The rest of the group turns to him, clearly confused.

He probably shouldn’t have just blurted out a singular word that had nothing at all to do with the conversation happening around him.

“I have marshmallows inside,” he says, looking towards Rey with a hopeful grin. “And chocolate and sweet crackers.”

Iolo practically cheers. “You’re a brilliant man, Dameron. That’s why you’re the general.”

“Yes, clearly that’s why,” Karé says drily.

When Iolo sticks his tongue out at her, she sticks hers back out at him.

Iolo follows Poe inside, gathering the supplies together, including a couple of the rods to roast the marshmallows on and they head back outside.

They pass around the food, and he sees Rey look at Kes out of the corner of her eye, watching him closely as he puts the chocolate on the sweet cracker, before piercing his marshmallow on the rod.

She follows suit, but when it comes time to put the marshmallows in the fire, it’s Poe’s eye she catches.

He grins at her as he dips his marshmallow a little deeper into the flames and hoots when it catches aflame, pulling it out of the fire and watching it burn.

He lets the flame linger before blowing it out, smiling even more broadly at Rey when he pulls it off the rod. The marshmallow is blackened but exceptionally gooey, and he bites into it with relish.

When he opens his eyes again, Rey’s stick is deep in the fire and he watches as she pulls it out, her treat aflame, her eyes alight in delight.

A smile blooms across her face when she finally bites into the treat.

He catches her eye again, and he can’t resist smiling at her pleasure, and even from across the fire, the moment lingers.

It’s only broken when Karé grabs the packet of chocolate from him, and by the time the momentary distraction is over, Rey’s already looking away as she spears another marshmallow on her stick.

In the end though, he’s gratified to see Rey enjoying the treat, polishing off more than a few with her usual gusto. Her eyes never seem to lose the lingering sadness though.

He’s collecting the leftover food and trash when she excuses herself to go inside to clean off the sticky marshmallow goo from her hands.

“So, what do you think?” he asks, as he walks in the door behind her.

She tosses a confused look at him over her shoulder. “Think about what?”

“The marshmallows and the s’mores,” he clarifies, as he sets the leftovers down on the counter beside her.

She laughs a little, her grin wry as she responds, “I think it was pretty clear I enjoyed them.”

He nudges her shoulder with his. “I’m glad.”

“You were right, you know,” she says as she turns on the faucet to wash her hands.

“I was? I mean, I usually am, but about what this time?”

She rolls her eyes a little at his cocky statement, even if she can’t hide her smile. “Setting them on fire.”

It’s his turn to grin, propping his elbow on the counter and leaning against it to look at her more fully as she dries her hands before resting her hip against the counter to mirror him.

“And here you were thinking it was just because I was some pyromaniac,” he teases.

She rolls her eyes again, but this time her mirth is plainly evident as she teases him back. “It’s not mutually exclusive.”

He laughs. “I guess not.”

When she smiles at him though, full and wide, he’s caught off guard, and not just by the joy on her face. There’s a smudge of chocolate and marshmallow sitting at the corner of her lip.

“You’ve got a little —” he begins, pointing to the corner of his own lip, “right there.”

Her brow furrows, a little confused at the non-sequitur, before she catches on, and her fingers come up to wipe at the corner of her mouth.

But it’s the wrong side. She then wipes at the other corner, but the stickiness causes the bit of food to linger, and he reaches up, slowly, carefully, giving her time to react, always so cautious when it comes to entering her personal space.

Her eyes widen, but she doesn’t move to stop him, and he cradles her jaw in his hand, his thumb coming up to wipe it away.

Rey’s mouth drops open just a fraction when his thumb catches on the corner of her lips, and he can’t pull his eyes away from them, and he can’t pull his hand away either, it feels too perfect, too right, and he can feel warmth spring to his cheeks. She’s staring back at him, and he thinks she’s pressing her cheek a little more into his hand, her breath coming a little faster and, for one absolutely heart-pounding moment he thinks about leaning in to close the distance between them —

Then there’s the sound of boots stomping up the front porch steps and the door is swinging open as Karé and Iolo’s voices fill the air, and the moment’s broken. Rey’s stepping away to grab a cup of water and his eyes follow her, mourning the loss of the connection.

“Settle this dispute for us: which is better — Ave Tane’s films or Lorene Kenau’s?” Karé asks the two of them, Iolo next to her with his hands on his hips, staring at them expectantly, as they debate the merits of two of the most respected directors of holofilms in the current age.

Poe has to dig deep to answer, and even then only settles on saying, “Tane’s. Yeah, Ave Tane’s.”

All eyes turn to Rey, and she’s staring at Karé, her face flushed, biting her lip nervously, and her eyes . . . sad? That can’t be right. They were cheerful just a moment ago . . . weren’t they?

“I don’t know,” Rey stutters out, then more firmly, “I’ve never seen anything from either of them. But um, I’m going to bed now. It’s been a long day. Good night.” And then she’s heading upstairs before any of them could respond.

The three of them stare after her.

It’s Karé who breaks the silence first. “What happened in here?”

But Poe’s just as confused as the rest of them. “I have no idea,” he says, even as he worries that he stepped over the line, his own sudden realization of his growing feelings for Rey throwing him off kilter, serving not only to confuse him, but maybe her too.

The last thing he would ever want is to make her uncomfortable or to hurt her.

But he’s scared that he just might have.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey sits cross-legged and nestled amongst the roots of the Force Tree, trying to meditate even as her mind spins.

She’s barely been back a full day, and she just seems to be even more confused than before she left. A part of her is focused on the mission she had just returned from. And an even larger part of her knows that she needs to focus on the mission she just returned from, figuring out the repercussions of it and how it might play into her future, if at all.

She sighs and opens her eyes, knowing a lost cause when she sees one. She stretches out her legs and sends a fond, if exasperated, smile at the two droids sitting nearby.

BB-8 chirps an inquiry. Rey just shakes her head. “Yes, I’m fine.” At another chirp, she chuckles, and says, “No, really. I promise.”

D-O tilts his face side to side assessing her, before asking, “But you did not float?”

Rey dips her head a little in acknowledgment. Both droids know her exceptionally well by now, but the littlest one seems to understand her on a deeper, almost visceral, level.

She tries not to think too deeply about that. It just makes her heart ache for the abuse and neglect the little droid had gone through.

“I guess I am a little distracted,” she says as she stands, dusting her pants off as she does. “But that doesn’t mean you two have to keep me company if you don’t want to. You can go visit Poe and the others at the temple if you want.”

The first transports with new students had arrived a few days ago. Classes wouldn’t begin until the next day, but Poe and the rest of them were there to help them settle in.

“Too-too many people,” the little droid finally stutters out, quietly.

She looks at D-O fondly as she passes him to head to the shed and her workbench, knowing that he and BB-8 would follow her. Near the end of the war, she started to have an inkling that Poe might have asked BB-8 to keep her company while she remained at base and trained, but recently, that feeling only seemed to grow stronger.

Plus, BB-8 wouldn’t want to leave D-O alone, if D-O wanted company. BB-8 was loyal and considerate, even protective, without being overbearing.

A lot like his owner, really.

She leans against her workbench for a brief moment before huffing a laugh and grabbing her tools. Despite her best efforts, despite knowing she needs to think about the mission and what’s come of it, her mind has circled right back to what she had been trying to avoid.

She has no idea how long she’s worked when she hears a faint whirring noise coming from BB-8 who then asks her a question.

“No, I’m not really hungry right now. Tell Poe I’ll just grab something from the fridge for dinner later,” she responds.

She thinks BB-8 gives her a look of disapproval. He’s always so concerned about making sure she eats enough and gets plenty of rest.

“You can head in and join the rest of them though, if you want,” she tells him. “I know you haven’t seen them all day.”

Neither of the droids move and she sets back to work fixing the harvester droid.

She picks up another broken part and begins scrubbing, hoping to distract herself.

It doesn’t work. But at least now she has something to do while her thoughts are all jumbled up.

Things had been changing for a while, her feelings only growing and becoming more confusing.

Back on base, even in the midst of war, she knew, objectively, that Poe was attractive. Thick, dark hair, warm brown eyes, stubbled jaw . . . people—well, most of the beings on base, actually—agreed that he was a very handsome man indeed.

So, she already knew that. She had eyes, after all. But she never really had time to think about it, couldn’t really spare a thought to anything more than a simple acknowledgement of that fact.

She had other things on her mind then, even if she had grown impossibly fond of their banter, the way they teased and fought each other, adrenaline shooting through her blood, but not fear, never fear, not the way the adrenaline rushed through her when she was fighting for her or her friends lives.

No, their banter, the way it made her heart race . . . that was a good feeling.

And even in the face of her uncertainty after the war, wondering whether their friendship survived post-battle, Poe’s only ever made her feel welcome, even when she thought that she might be taking advantage of his and Kes’s time and generosity in letting her stay with them.

She watches BB-8 out of the corner of her eye, and grows even more certain that Poe must have encouraged his droid to stay close to her side. She considers BB-8 a part of her family, and knows that he feels the same way about her too. But she also knows BB-8 would’ve never let Poe go on a mission alone if the droid could’ve helped it.

Though she’s still glad to have his company. It’s nice to know Poe thought of her enough to make sure she never felt too lonely.

And that thought made her feel warm, in a way she was only beginning to understand. Poe was always trying to make sure sure she was comfortable. And it’s more than just that. He sees her, sees into her, in a way few people, if anyone else, actually does.

She knows she’s been quiet—at least, more quiet than usual—since she’s been on Yavin IV. But he never pushed her. He would fill up the quiet moments when she couldn’t bring herself to talk but needed a distraction. And he would sit with her quietly—or at least, more quiet than usual—when she needed space to think, but didn’t want to be alone.

And when her nightmares sent her fleeing from her bed, it was Poe who followed, who knew, instinctively, why her body shook in terror, who wrapped her up in his arms until nothing but his warmth and the feeling of safety and contentment surrounded her.

She remembers the glow of the fire, the way the flames reflected off his hair, his eyes, the way the heat from it made sweat trickle down the line of his throat, the way he smiled, red lips curving upwards . . .

She jumps when she hears the door open, BB-8 letting out several quick, excited beeps in succession, and she turns and hopes her face isn’t too red as she sees Poe enter the shed.

“Thought you’d might be hungry,” he says, holding up a plate in one hand and two bottles of water in the other.

He’s clad in dark brown pants and a white button up, reminiscent of their time on base. She wonders if he had been wearing his leather jacket with it, but she doesn’t miss it now, not with the way his sleeves are rolled up, exposing his forearms, the muscles standing in stark relief as he carries the food over and sets it down next to her.

Even closer, she sees his hair is curlier than usual, more disheveled. She can only imagine the work he’s put in today, the sweat and humidity rumpling his smoother style that he’s been talking about wearing in the classroom, wonders if his hair is messier than normal because he’s been running his hands through it . . .

She realizes she’s been silent for far too long.

“I uh . . . hadn’t really thought about it.” She winces. She couldn’t have thought up something better to say?

“Figured you lost track of time or something.”

Rey’s brow furrows when she realizes she really has lost track of time, and asks, “What time is it?”

“About 22:00.”

Rey winces. “I hadn’t realized it was that late.”

“That’s why I brought you some food,” Poe says, already uncovering the plate. “Well, Kes made it. I volunteered to bring it outside.” He gives her a playful wink. “His food is tastier than mine anyway.”

She smiles, wanly, and hopes he can’t tell what a mess her thoughts are and how he’s only making it worse. She bites into her sandwich, but barely tastes it. She’s lost in her thoughts and in her growing, changing feelings for Poe.

She has no idea what to do about any of them.

He’s impossibly sweet and kind, and is so good on a fundamental level. And he’s been so good to her. Poe grins at her through a bite of his own sandwich, and she can’t escape the knowledge that he’s also impossibly handsome. She knows now, she finally knows, that she wants him.

But she knows it can’t be.

She’s just a girl, a broken girl burdened with an incomprehensible amount of responsibility and no clear path forward.

And she’s seen the way he and Karé are acting around each other. They have history, a deep and abiding friendship. She knows Karé is still hurting from the loss of Snap, but she can feel the love and affection between Poe and her anyway.

It might not be something yet.

But she thinks it might be, and she won’t interfere. They both deserve to be happy.

She sniffs and wipes the back of her mouth with her hand as she swallows her bite of food.

“How’d the mission go?” Poe asks. She eyes him, senses he’s trying to be nonchalant, but he’s clearly concerned for her.

He might not know why she’s upset. And she won’t tell him either. But it’d be nice to talk about the mission.

She takes her sandwich and walks over to sit on the pile of pillows. Poe settles in next to her, and waits for her to speak as she chews her bite of food, mulling over where to start.

“There was a little village on Dantooine, not far from where I met up with Finn and the rest of the team. One of Jannah’s contacts had gotten word that it had been on a list held by the First Order, though she wasn’t certain why. Just that it was a high-profile target for future operations. When Jannah had recovered that information—a lot of information, really, not just that—they had put it into a database for further review, since they didn’t know why that village had been named.”

She pauses, grabbing another sandwich on the plate. “Then Kaydel had received information that the village was being targeted now by First Order remnants—guess they hadn’t gotten the word the war was over and they lost?” Rey smiled, ruefully.

“Guess not,” Poe responds quietly, still gazing at her thoughtfully.

They may have won at Exegol, but they both knew the skirmishes would continue long after.

Rey picks at her sandwich, pulling out a piece of meat and chewing it thoughtfully. “When they matched the name of the village being targeted to the list Jannah had recovered, Kaydel sent it to Finn’s team. And Finn knew it was important to go there immediately. And that’s when he contacted me, to help them assist with the village.”

“Why? What was it about the village? Or the list?”

Rey shrugs. “He just had a feeling.”

“And then what?”

“We met up on Dantooine and it was easy enough to get into the village, under the cover of night. It wasn’t a particularly large group of First Order sympathizers, and they weren’t well armed. Small weapons, few pieces of surveillance equipment. They didn’t know we were coming.” She pauses, rips the slice of bread into smaller pieces. “Or at least, that’s what we thought.”

“What do you mean?”

“Before we had arrived, the First Order was being slowly picked off, one by one. They hadn’t been defeated yet, but they were worried.”

“By who? Local villagers?”

“Yes . . . in a way.” Rey folded her legs together, resting her elbows on her knees. “We came across a woman. A teenager, really. She had gotten Jannah onto her back before we had all realized we were on the same side. She brought us to her hideout. A handful of other people were there, all of them children though. She was the oldest, and she was in charge of that cave. A cave filled with kyber crystals.”

“The First Order were after kyber crystals?” Poe knows the power of kyber. He knows it could be dangerous in the wrong hands.

“Not exactly.”

“What then?”

“When we arrived, we only knew that the First Order were after something, not what it was. And we really had no reason to think it was the kyber crystals, not when that sort of information would probably be easily accessible in the First Order’s databases. There was no reason to put that information in one part of the database, and then hide it on some list in another part. So, it had to be something other than the kyber.”

Rey takes a long sip of water, her throat dry from the story and her memories of that day. “Kyber crystals have a specific sort of . . . energy, that a Force-sensitive individual can feel, particularly when there’s a large amount of kyber, like in the cave. But a Force-sensitive individual. . . well, they can also sense other Force-sensitive individuals. And it’s hard sometimes to tell the difference, if you’re not trained or particularly well attuned to the Force. So, if you’re not after kyber crystals, there was no reason to look in the cave.”

“The First Order were after the Force-sensitive children,” Poe breathes, as his mind puts the pieces together.

“I don’t know, maybe. Probably. There’s nothing to indicate to us _why_ this village was on the list, just that it was there. But what else could it be? And the villagers seemed to sense that too. This village was a, well, for lack of a better word, a hotbed of Force-sensitive individuals. Especially in so many of the young ones, I could sense it.”

“The children could use the Force?”

“Not exactly. At least, not yet. The oldest one, the one who found us, she . . . has strong instincts. A lot like Finn, actually. But we were able to use the information they gave us to take out the rest of the First Order, the ones who remained behind at least.”

“You think that’d be it? Is the village in the clear now?”

She shrugs. “I don’t know. It didn’t seem like the list had been widely distributed, and like I said, it didn’t seem that they even knew why the village had been named, at least initially. Just that there was _something_ there and they were looking for it.”

She pauses, picking at the skin of her thumb. “We got rid of the invaders. They’re safe now.”

She hopes, at least. A small contingent of the New Republic army had been left behind to keep an eye on things, while Jannah and Finn and the rest of the team continued on their mission, a vast galaxy out there, and thousands of nameless stormtroopers, kidnapped children really, needing their help, searching for their home, their family, a way to shed their brainwashing and become a part of society once again.

She had followed them back to their ship, glancing over her shoulder at the young woman who stared after her, her pleas to _stay, help us, we need to find a way to make sure they can’t hurt us again._

 _Please_.

She had told the girl at the first sign of trouble she would return.

Rey knew she needed to return to Yavin IV. But she couldn’t help but think she was leaving something undone.

She senses Poe’s gaze on her now, heavy and intense, but now that she’s told the story, she wants a distraction.

Needs one.

She bumps his shoulder with hers, sees his intense expression give way to something . . . fond? Maybe?

She doesn’t want to think too much about that either, her heart already aching. “What about you? Tell me what you’ve been up to recently. I feel like I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Her voice comes out a lot more eager than she was expecting, and she flushes. She’s barely coming to terms with her own feelings, and the last thing she wants to do is make him aware of them, too.

Poe laughs, more breath than anything. “It’s certainly not been as exciting as what you’ve been up to. Just putting the last pieces together. I still have no idea how we managed to get enough equipment. But all the teachers have made it here and they’re settled in. Six of them for here, and the other academies are about to start up too, so we’ll all be able to help each other.” Poe gazes off into the distance. “Hopefully this will work.” Then he smiles, facing her again. “And the students are well on their way to getting settled in too. Though, to be fair, tonight they’re probably searching for the best places in the temple to hold a party. Someplace hidden where the teachers won’t find them.”

He nudges his shoulder with hers. “I don’t think most of them know that I grew up here, and I already know all the secret places.”

“And you told the teachers?”

“Oh, hells no. They deserve at least one night for a party. Besides, this could be useful. I’m going to sit on that information until the right time.”

She laughs at the absolute deviousness evident in Poe’s smile. “And here I thought you were becoming Mr. Responsible.”

“You think I’m not?” he teases.

She rolls her eyes at him, though she’s unable to completely hide her smile. “You know what I mean.”

They sit in silence for a long moment, both lost in their respective thoughts, all the obstacles and challenges and changes that sit before them.

Then she sighs.

“What is it?” Poe asks, concerned once more.

She shakes her head. “It’s just . . . I guess I’m jealous, you know. You seem to have it all figured out.”

“I don’t know about that.”

“But you do. You’re here, you came back to Yavin. You came back to your dad. You’re starting a school, one of the new naval academies. To me, you’ve got it all figured out.”

Poe twists his water bottle in his hands, as he struggles for words, lost in his thoughts. “I knew I wanted to come home. But I also wanted a way to keep serving, too. And this? I think this is it. A way to do both. Maybe even do more than I would have been able to do if I remained with the military or even went into government. Here,” he pauses, then smiles, the expression . . . hopeful. “I’ll be able to help the galaxy because I’ll be helping other people help themselves. And then they can help others. Does that make sense? By training just one person, they can protect hundreds more.”

Poe sighs, dragging his hands through his hair. “It’s scary too, though. I’ve never done anything like this before. Never taught. Never even thought I’d be running a school.” Poe shakes his head, staring at the ground.

“You, scared?” she asks, disbelieving. “That’s hard to imagine.”

“Downright terrified.”

“Then why do this?” she asks, something more than just curious.

“Because it’s the right thing to do.”

Poe’s gaze turns outward once more, his eyes settling on Rey. Once again, she’s struck with the thought that he sees right into her.

“You’ll figure it out,” he says, his voice soft. “I’ve told you that before, and I still believe that completely. And no matter what you choose to do, it will be great. You’ll change the galaxy.”

His smile widens, and he reaches out, his hand resting on hers. “You’ll help make the galaxy something better than it’s ever been before. And it will be great, because it’s you.”

Rey blinks at the shock of his skin against hers, but even more than that, there’s something warm and confident in his voice that lights her up inside. She’s grown accustomed to people’s confidence in her as a warrior, as a fighter, as a Force user.

But it always stuns her that someone can believe in her simply because it is _her_.

She senses that Poe’s about to draw his hand away, but before he can do so, something makes her flip her hand around until her palm is facing up and she can clasp his hand in hers.

“Thank you, Poe.”

He nods. “You’re welcome, Rey.”

They gaze at each other, the moment lingering, until finally she gives his hand a squeeze and says, “You’ve got school tomorrow. You should get your beauty sleep.”

He laughs. “Yeah, I need it.”

She bites her tongue, but as he leaves, her mind is already whirring.

She thinks of a young woman fighting to save her young friends, a planet full of green and so much life, a place that might not be her home, a place she wishes—that she feels, just maybe—could be home, if only she could stay, a tree, powerful and ethereal, its roots nestling deep into the earth and its branches reaching for the sky, the past and the future, so many beings helping each other, learning and growing, a galaxy learning and growing in common cause . . .

Suddenly, she’s a flurry of activity, and the two droids resting in the corner suddenly come alive in the face of her excitement.

She grabs her datapad and starts scrawling down her hopes, her dreams, her _ideas_ . . .

By sharing her knowledge, she can learn and grow, can explore the unexplored. By teaching, she can help others, who in turn, can help more.

By teaching one, she can help hundreds, thousands, maybe millions more.

But it can’t be like the days of old, dogma and isolation leading to collapse. Things need to change. _Progress not stasis_ , she thinks.

She’s terrified. But suddenly, now, she believes she can do this.

_She can do this._

And there she remains, working, long after the moon sets and the sun rises on a new day.


	7. Chapter 7

Poe’s _exhausted_.

He knew he would be busy when the students first arrived to the academy and lessons began. Now he’s thinking he might have bit off a little more than he could chew by not just overseeing the whole thing, but by also teaching one of the advanced maneuvers courses.

Then again, showing off some of those advanced maneuvers got his blood pumping and his adrenaline kicking in a way it hasn’t had a chance to in a while, so he can’t complain entirely.

But between learning everyone’s names, ensuring the academy is running smoothly, and answering questions from the other instructors (and _kriff_ is he glad that Karé and Iolo are among the teachers, there’s no one else he trusts more to keep things running smoothly if he has to deal with something else), but . . .

He’s exhausted.

This morning when he was in the shower, he’s pretty sure he fell asleep. And by the time he got out, he’s uncertain whether he washed his hair twice or not at all.

It’s not until late afternoon, as he’s returning to the homestead with Karé and Iolo at his side, that he realizes he’s barely seen Rey in more than a week. Since their conversation in the shed, the day before the academy was set to start, where they talked about her mission and their hopes and fears of the future, he’s only seen her once. She had wandered into the kitchen late one evening when he’d been in there thinking about heading to bed, but then he had spent the next hour with her on the stoop nursing bottles of cider instead. She seemed weary, and instead of talking about what she had been up to recently, had asked him to tell her a story.

So he told her of the first time his mother brought him up into the sky with her. Then he told her of the first time he’d gone up after her death.

When the clench in his heart became too much, she’d distracted him from his still ever-present grief by getting him talking about the first few days at the academy. They had gone to bed after, and other than her soft footsteps traipsing through the house late at night or early in the morning, he hasn’t seen or heard from her since.

He misses her. He _really_ misses her. The thought hits him with a jolt, leaving behind an aching sort of emptiness right in the middle of his sternum.

Karé and Iolo, just as exhausted as he is, beg off from dinner, heading to the guest houses, while Poe walks inside.

“Is that you, Poe?”

Kes’s voice sounds from the kitchen, though even if he hadn’t called out, Poe knew he would find his father in there if the rich, savory smells wafting through the air were any indication.

“Something smells good, dad,” he says as he walks in.

Kes grins at him over his shoulder. “It’ll be ready in a minute. Are Karé and Iolo joining us tonight?”

“Not tonight, they’re beat. I mean, honestly, so am I, but . . .” and Poe just gestures to the food, smiling even as his stomach growls audibly. He could never say no to a home cooked meal.

“Alright then. Well, grab us something to drink and sit down.”

Poe opens the fridge, pulling out a jug of chilled water and a couple of bottles of cider to bring to the table.

Poe pops open his cap and settles down at the kitchen table while Kes fills some bowls, and he can’t help but cock his head to the side and listen closely for any other sounds in the house.

Other than the clatter of utensils as Kes dishes out the stew and the chirping and hooting of the animals outside, the house is quiet.

“Is it just us tonight?”

Kes turns, confused. “I thought you said Karé and Iolo were turning in early?”

“Yeah, um, I did, I just meant . . .” and Poe gestures helplessly, even as he feels his cheeks heat up.

Kes smiles, and Poe hates how knowing it seems, especially when he says, “Rey won’t be joining us tonight. She grabbed some food earlier though.”

Poe nods, disappointed that he doesn’t even have an excuse to bring her some food later. She’s gotten better about making sure she eats a decent amount each day, after spending so much of her life having to carefully ration and stretch out a limited food supply. But sometimes, even back at base, she would get busy and a meal or two would slip her mind.

Poe grabs a spoon and takes a hefty bite, immediately regretting his rush it when it burns the roof of his mouth.

“So how was your day?”

Poe swallows some water to cool down his mouth before catching his father up on the academy. It’s easy enough to get caught up in explaining the lessons he taught, always fond of flying and everything to do with it. He talks a bit about the students, the ones who might be prodigies in the making (“Oh no, one Poe is enough,” his father teases. Poe just sticks his tongue out in reply.) and the ones who are dedicated, but might need a little extra help (and this time when his dad smiles and tells Poe “I know you’ll get them caught up in no time. You never leave anyone behind,” Poe just smiles down at his plate and says, “You’re the one who taught me that, after all.”)

It’s when Poe asks after his dad’s day that he’s well and truly shocked.

“Got the thresher droids set to harvesting and then headed into town to talk with Milla Dystra.”

Poe’s surprised. He knows of Milla of course, she’s effectively the governor of Yavin IV, with her office in the main part of the village. And while Poe knows of her, and Kes does too of course, both being among the first settlers as well as prominent names in the community, Poe wouldn’t exactly call them friends. They’re on good terms, of course, but Poe can’t figure out why his father went into town just to talk to her. “Milla? Why’d you need to talk to Milla?”

“Rey wanted to make sure she could get the space to house more people and just to make sure the increase in people could be supported in the community. It’d probably be a pretty decent sized increase in people coming in through the spaceport and staying here.”

Kes just keeps eating, spooning up a bite of stew and chewing, completely failing to notice that Poe’s spoon has halted halfway between his bowl and mouth as he just stares at his father in confusion.

“Why is Rey expecting more people to show up?”

Now it’s Kes’s turn to look confused. “Well, for her school, of course.”

“Her school?”

“Yes . . .” Kes sits back in his chair, realization slowly dawning on his face. “I thought you knew.”

“No, I — she’s starting a school? Here? A Jedi school?”

“She said she wasn’t sure if it would necessarily be for the Jedi, exactly. Just Force users generally? I don’t know, she didn’t exactly say much about it. It still seems like she’s in the early stages. She just wanted me to run some ideas by the governor, and talk to me about plans for the homes and school?”

“Plans?”

“Well, in the physical sense.” Kes grins wryly. “I took a couple of architecture courses at university, you know.” Kes takes a sip of his cider. “She was just looking for some advice on how to get things going. And to ask me if I could talk to some people for her. Not that she needed me to.” Kes shrugs. “I just told them I was there on behalf of Rey, and no one can say no to her anyway.”

Poe swallows around the lump in his throat, struggling for what to say in the face of his shock, and finally settles on “And you’re you. You’re important to Yavin IV. No one can say no to you either.”

“I appreciate that,” Kes says, a fond smile appearing on his face before it grows concerned. “I’m sorry, Poe. I thought you knew about it already.”

Poe smiles, wanly. He’s heard about none of this from Rey, and he doesn’t know why. “No. No, she hasn’t told me anything about it.”

Kes hums. “I’m sure it’s just because you’ve both been so busy. It sounded like this was a new idea, and she just took off with it when inspiration struck. And you’ve been so busy with the academy.”

“Yeah, we’ve both been busy.” Poe takes a sip of his drink, deciding to ignore the memory of their late night conversation just a few nights ago and the ache in his heart that Rey didn’t tell him anything about this.

He’s trusted her with so many of his hopes and dreams and fears for the academy, and he thought she felt the same way. He thought that she trusted him too.

It hurts far more than he expected that she apparently doesn’t.

He takes a bite of his food, determined to hide the ache in his chest. “So, you planning to head into the village tomorrow for the Farmer’s Market?”

***

Poe’s working in the little study downstairs late in the evening a few days later, when he hears a soft knock on the door frame. He had left the door open, because his dad likes to pop in and out every so often, and with D-O growing more comfortable around them, he and BB-8 like to go off and explore, and Poe can’t be getting up every few minutes just to let them in or out depending on the whims of two very curious droids.

So he’s already smiling, expecting to see his dad, when he looks away from his pile of ship schematics and lesson plans and comes face to face with Rey.

“Can I come in?” she asks, a hopeful smile on her face.

He motions her inside as he says, “Of course.”

She holds out a box and he recognizes the seal of the little bakery in the village. At the same time the smell of the sweet cakes he loves so much from the bakery hits his nose, a pang goes through his heart as he remembers why she’s been in the village so frequently lately.

He’s unsure whether to tell her that he knows.

She holds out the box to him, and he takes a cake, biting into it as she settles on the couch, her legs folding neatly beneath her. She leans against the arm of the couch, and her body visibly relaxes, tension melting away as she settles in.

“I thought that since you’ve been so busy that maybe you could use a break,” she says, as she nibbles a bit of icing off the edge of the cake square.

He swallows his bite, the cake seeming almost tasteless on his tongue, but tries to smile anyway. It may hurt that she doesn’t trust him or want to share things with him like he does with her, but maybe there’s a reason for that, and anyway, it’s not his place to be angry at her or make her share it anyway. She’s still an important part of his life, and as much as he wants to be the same for her, he can’t force it. All he can do now is hope she can’t see how hurt he is.

He can tell that he’s not exactly succeeding when her face melts into confusion when he takes too long to respond, her head tilted inquiringly. “Yeah, it’s been crazy,” he says. “But I appreciate this,” he continues, holding up his cake square as a toast.

“I was in the village and figured you could use a treat.”

“No kidding. It feels like I need a ton of sugar and caf just to get through the day.”

“Well, hopefully you’ll be able to summon up a bit more energy for when Finn visits next weekend.”

Poe laughs. “No kidding. Could you just imagine what he’d do if I slept through his entire visit?”

They had received the message from Finn two days ago that he had a break in between missions and that he was planning to come by to visit them.

Well, he had received a message from Finn. He hadn’t seen Rey to ask if she had gotten the same, but considering that the two were so close, he figured that was the case.

And now he knows he figured right.

“I don’t know, but I wouldn’t like to be around to see.”

“I’ll have to make sure my caf supply is stocked up,” he says, chewing his bite of cake. Then he laughs, and tells her, “Iolo’s taken to hiding sweets and packets of crisps in his desk. I tried keeping protein bars in my office, and Karé has nuts and vegs stashed away in her little fridge, but we still end up raiding his desk once or twice a day.”

“Bet that sets a good example for the students.”

“Pshw. They’re the ones who drive us to it. You’ve never seen a more arrogant group. Oh no . . .”

“What is it?” she asks, suddenly concerned.

Poe’s face draws into one of mock-horror. “This must be some sort of karmic revenge for my time at the academy.”

Rey laughs, and the sound is sweet, soothing the aching in his heart. “I heard you were the top of your class though, the best there.”

“Aww . . . yeah, don’t believe a word of that.”

“No, it’s true. Karé mentioned it, said Wedge told her,” she says, something sad crossing her face.

The loss of Snap, and its effect on Karé, still pervades the homestead. He slides the box of sweets back a little closer to her, and she gives him a small smile as she takes out another piece of cake and gazes at it thoughtfully.

“Well, I can’t argue with Wedge,” he says, and objectively it’s true. He’s got the award for finishing the top of his class sitting in a little box upstairs with a handful of others too. “But that doesn’t mean I wasn’t arrogant.”

She shrugs. “Well, even if that was true, at least now they have the chance to learn from you. You can pass those lessons on. I bet you’re a great teacher.”

“I don’t know. I’m trying, but it’s still so new,” he says, leaning back in his chair and dragging his hands through his hair. He suddenly feels the huge amount of pressure weighing on his shoulders, and the sugar is doing nothing to alleviate his weariness. “Kriff, they’ve been running me ragged. Who knew it could be this tiring to run a school?”

Rey bites her lip, and suddenly he remembers that she’s planning to open a school too, and here he’s talking about how draining it’s been when she’s got the future of the galaxy’s Force users on her shoulders. At least he has his father, his old teachers, and the handful of other academies and government officials to rely on. The military academy has a foundation to rest on. Rey’s school is starting with a lot less support.

He doesn’t want her discouraged before she even has the chance to really begin.

“Rey—” he starts, determined to push past his lingering hurt and bitterness about her not telling him about the plans for her school.

“Poe—” she says at the same time.

They both laugh awkwardly, and each try to let the other go first, until Rey says, absolutely adamant, “No. You go first.”

He huffs out a laugh. It’s always impossible to say no to her. “Well, okay then. Listen, I just thought you should know, my dad told me about your plans. To open the Jedi school,” and he sees her face fall, so he rushes to continue. “I’m sorry! We were having dinner, and he was just telling me about his day, and he mentioned going to see the local governor to make sure there’s space for it and such, and he just figured I knew. He didn’t mean to spill your secret, honestly. He’s not the type of person to do that. But I just thought you should know that I know.”

She looks strangely disappointed, so he tries to think of what else to say that might soothe the apparent breach of trust, and finally has to settle on, “Dad will help you out however you need, you know. And it sounds like he’s got some ideas about the housing and other infrastructure. I think he’s always wanted to put those architecture courses to work,” he says, grinning wryly at the last part.

She smiles slightly at that. “I know, he seemed really excited about the prospect of planning for the new homes.”

“I just thought you should know that I know because . . . because I may be complaining about it right now, but . . . it’s still a good thing, you know? It’s tiring work, but it’s _good_ work. And I didn’t want to get down on the school, when you’re about to open up a school, because you’re going to be great.”

“You think so?” she asks, her face hopeful.

“Yeah. Really. I absolutely believe that.”

She looks down at her hands where her fingers are twining together. “I was going to tell you.”

“It’s alright,” he begins.

“It seemed like you had a lot on your plate,” she starts again, chewing her lip. She smiled then, but it was wan. “And it just never seemed like the right time.”

He wonders if there’s something else there too, something else she’s not saying.

A memory springs unbidden to his mind, Finn saying _I’ll tell you later_ and him quipping in reply _you mean when Poe’s not here._

Jealousy is a rare emotion for him, and he hates to feel it now, and he really hopes she doesn’t sense it because she doesn’t deserve that from her friend at all. Because no matter what he’s feeling, he’ll always be a friend to her.

And really, he hates to see her upset, so it’s easy enough to say, “That’s probably true. But really, don’t worry about it.” He slides the box over to her again, where one more cake square sits in it. “It’s all yours.”

She smiles at him as she grabs it and it’s almost enough to soothe the ache in his heart.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, when I originally outlined this story, it was going to be 12 chapters.
> 
> Well, I'm wordy, and the slow burn was happening slower than I hoped, and, well, when I revamped my outline, the story now sits at 18 chapters (13 of those are currently written, hence my need to go back and revamp that outline). But while the slow burn is going to still be slow burning for a bit longer, things will be heating up soon enough!
> 
> In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this chapter!

On Jakku, she had an endless, unrelenting routine. During the war, even when she remained on Ajan Kloss training with Leia, no two days were the same.

Here, she finds a happy medium.

“You ever gonna take a break, Jedi?” Kes asks, grinning.

She grins back at him. Well, at least the work is _different_ , even if it still never stops.

She often helps Kes in the koyo fields in the morning, working alongside him and the thresher droids, while their afternoons are spent reviewing plans for a new school with a group of homes for families nearby. It was her first major change from the Jedi of old. No more separating the children from their families. They could — in fact, they _should_ — come with their children to Yavin IV.

She also knew that she wanted the group to be small. She wanted time to focus on each individual, and for them to have the opportunity to develop their interests outside of the school and the Jedi teachings, as well as allow her time to devote to her own interests.

So, at the very least, there wouldn’t be _too_ many buildings to build at first.

Kes drew up the plans, and went back to revise things when she had new ideas. The two of them would then talk with Kaydel, who volunteered to be an intermediary between them and the new government, and discuss how best to seek assistance to help fund the school and find the manpower and materials to build it.

Of course, it was Kes who knew the locals better than anyone, and when it came time to go into town, he was the one to go. He brought her into town a few times to meet with them, but for the most part, he handled the boring, bureaucratic meetings to get things settled for the increased presence, as well as help develop opportunities for the new individuals to become fully involved in the local community.

No more being cloistered off from the larger community. They will be a part of it.

And while the general philosophy behind her school is taking shape, the smaller details are less so. She doesn’t know exactly when the school will be set to start. She figures it will still take a while to get everything in order.

So she spends the rest of her afternoon in meditation, scrawling down plans, working on her own code, her own Jedi order.

It’s not perfect by any measure. It will likely never be perfect, nor could it be, really. But she will never stop trying her best to make it the best it could be, for the Force-sensitive beings who come to her, their families, and the galaxy at large.

No longer will the Jedi become complacent, overconfident in their own righteousness. No longer will the Jedi forget who they’re serving. No longer will they be separate and apart from the community.

She’s exhausted by the time she finishes for the day, but in a _good_ way, a satisfying way. She often heads back into the house tired down to her bones, pleased when there’s a hot meal for dinner, whether it’s from Kes, or the kitchen droid they procured when he started having to go into town more often.

She sits down at the kitchen table between Kes and Poe, quickly draining her glass of water before pouring herself another one.

“Thirsty?” Kes asks, with a laugh.

“I don’t know why. You’d think with all this humidity I wouldn’t get so thirsty.”

“Gotta be careful out there, Jedi. It sneaks up on you.”

The three of them pass the rest of dinner companionably, and Kes heads into the living room to catch up on some of the programs he likes to watch, while she asks Poe, “Cards?”

Poe looks hesitant at first, a shadow crossing his face, but then agrees.

It’s been like this for the last few days, she thinks, ever since Kes — and not her — had told him about her plans for her school. He’s still as gentle and kind as always, but he’s . . . hesitant. That’s the only word she can think of.

That, and he seems quieter, somehow? She never thought Poe could ever be considered quiet. And really, he’s still not. He still chatters away about BB-8’s antics when he goes with Poe to the academy, or the weather, or any of a thousand different topics.

But whenever they start delving into more personal topics, it seems like a veil comes down, separating the two. “Everything was fine,” he’d say. “It was a good day, the kids seem to be learning a lot,” or something else equally as minor. Every once in a while, everything becomes clear and bright once more, but those moments disappear far too quickly, and she doesn’t know _why_.

Poe’s sitting right in front of her, but she _misses_ him, and she doesn’t know what to do.

He asks her about her day, her plans for the school, and it’s easy enough to tell him. She also wants to apologize again, tell him she was just busy, distracted, and he seemed to have so much on his plate that she couldn’t bear to be another source of anxiety and stress for him.

But the last time she tried, he just smiled and said “No need to apologize, Rey. I understand.”

But then why did he still seem so . . . so . . . muted?

She sets down a card and draws two more. “I was hoping to ask you a favor.”

“Sure,” Poe says, setting down his own card. “What is it?”

“Can I visit the temple?”

“Of course,” Poe replies, easily. “Though did you want to come see the students? Or do you want to avoid them?”

Poe’s look is knowing. When the students had discovered the last Jedi lived nearby, apparently a minor furor had been set off, everyone wanting to meet the hero of the galaxy.

She laughs and considers her next move as she responds, “I don’t mind coming by to meet them one day if you think that might be useful. But this time, maybe avoid them?”

She says the last part sheepishly. It’s not that she wants to avoid the students entirely, but “I want to get a sense of the history of the temple. Of the rebellion. I think it could be useful. Plus . . .”

“Plus, what?” Poe asks, gently, and there it is again, a moment where everything becomes clear, his Force signature becoming bright and golden once more, before it becomes muted again, as if he was hiding away . . . something.

“I just — I feel a pull to it. Like with the tree? Something tells me that I need to visit it.”

Poe looks concerned and she knows why. She knows where the temple came from. She had worried at first that the pull was something dark, something to do with the Sith, but when she let herself dive deeper into the feeling, that didn’t seem to be it at all. The same warm, gentle if intentional pull she felt to the Force tree, seems to be the same one pulling her to the temple.

So she tells him that.

The same warm flicker of light she had seen earlier in him appears again, and this time lingers as he smiles gently and nods. “Alright, we can do that.”

Just as they begin talking of a time to visit together, their comm’s beep simultaneously with an incoming message.

Her stomach drops, already fearing the worst. Why would there be an incoming message for the two of them unless it was bad news?

But then she sees it’s a message from Finn and by the time she finishes scanning it, she looks up with a bright smile on her face that’s mirrored on Poe’s.

“Looks like he’s coming in a day early,” she says.

“Looks like it,” he agrees happily, his golden signature flaring brighter once more, before dulling once again. Though this time, she notes with a fragile sort of hopefulness, it doesn’t seem quite as muted as before.

It’s a start.

***

A familiar voice rings out over the comm asking for permission to land, and before Poe knows it, a small crowd is pouring out of the Dameron homestead and into the field, greeting their friend who descends the ramp like a hero returning home.

Well, at least it was like the moment after the Battle of Exegol, when Finn and Poe had spotted Rey across the field and came together in a hug, holding each other tightly, tears streaming out of their eyes, so _glad_ to find everyone safe —

So yes, Poe thinks. It’s exactly like a hero’s welcome. He knows he wouldn’t be here without Finn, none of them would, and he stands with his arms around Finn and Rey simultaneously, wordless, but speaking volumes with the way they clutch each other.

The others hover around them, waiting for their chance to greet Finn (and in Kes’s case, to _meet_ Finn) but they have to wait several moments for the trio to finish their hug first.

But once that’s done, Kes is leading them inside, talking a mile a minute to the man of the hour. Poe’s told Kes about all the different ways Finn had saved him, and even if Poe couldn’t read the deep, abiding emotion on his father’s face as he talks to Finn — in between praising him — it would be painfully obvious by the spread that sits on Kes’s table for dinner.

In fact, the spread is so large Kes has had to pull out a long table from storage and place it in the middle of the living room, the couches pushed to the sides, just to fit all the food, as well as give everyone a place to sit.

Rey sits to one side of Finn, with Poe on the other side of the man. Kes sits next to Poe and it’s quite apparent early on that Poe will have to deal with his father leaning halfway across his plate to keep talking to Finn.

As much as Kes likes feeding people, he likes talking with them even more, and it seems especially true now.

“And just how is Lando doing?” Kes asks at one point as he picks up the plate of rolls, grabbing one before passing it straight to Finn. Poe has to snatch one for himself before it leaves his vicinity completely, grinning at his dad who just gives him a wink.

A small smile comes to Finn’s face. “It’s — he’s a legend. Still saving the galaxy, just . . . one stormtrooper at a time now,” and Finn trails off a brief moment, something indecipherable playing across his face. Poe gets the sense he doesn’t want to talk about the missions he’s been working on right now. Poe gets it.

Kes does too, it seems. “He still got that same fashion sense?”

Finn laughs. “You know it. He still keeps a couple of his old capes with him on the ship.” He grins. “He let me and Jannah try a few on.”

It’s no surprise that gets a few ooh’s and aah’s around the table. Lando and his sense of fashion were legendary . . . and most of them at the table don’t exactly want to talk about the war or its ramifications that often, either.

The conversation around the table is lively, but Poe, for once, is quiet. He finds himself watching more often than talking. Karé and Iolo are chatting, throwing comments around the table (and he’s just glad it’s not food they’re throwing, he thinks, flashing back to one memorable moment at the academy). Kes asks Finn questions, and then the reverse happens almost immediately. Finn is apparently extraordinarily fond of the bright colors and decorations making up the house, and then of course he can’t help but ask about the food.

But it’s Finn and Rey’s heads he sees buried together more often than not. At first it was Rey explaining the different types of food Kes has laid out, but even as they both start freely shoveling food into their mouths, their conversation continues quietly, despite the obvious din at the dinner table.

It’s not that they are excluding him, exactly. They pipe up with comments to him often. He just can’t explain it. For some reason, he just feels . . . wrong-footed. And he _wants_ just so damn much, even if he can’t put into words exactly what he’s so desperate for. And it’s not a new feeling either. He knows this feeling started weeks ago.

And as the evening continues, Finn and Rey still leaning in close to each other, talking quietly, exchanging careless, affectionate touches, it’s a feeling he just can’t seem to shake.

***

After the war ended, Rey tried to learn how to sleep in.

She was . . . less than successful.

She still wakes up with the sun each morning to begin training, but at least today, she has a partner with her on her run through the jungle.

Finn pants at her side. He’s _extremely_ fit, but she’s used to the intense humidity, and the morning air is still hazy and very damp.

Between Ajan Kloss and her months here, she’s developed quite the lung capacity. Finn, who spent more time off Ajan Kloss running missions, less so.

It’s no surprise when they return to the clearing and he staggers to the ground, one hand propped on his stomach that heaves up and down as he gulps in air, while the other waves in the air in Rey’s general direction.

“It’s been an honor,” he gasps out, the tiniest of smiles giving his teasing away. “But you’ll have to go on without me.

“Oh, come on, it wasn’t that bad,” she says, smiling, as she leans over to stretch out her legs.

“Oh no, it was exactly that bad,” Finn groans, before pointing an accusatory finger at her. “Oh, I get it now.”

“Get what?”

“You’re trying to kill me. You are trying to kill me. Oh, woe is me. What did I ever do to deserve this,” he moans as he lays the back of his hand against his forehead theatrically.

Rey laughs, crossing her arms in front of her to stretch them out even as she nudges him with her foot. He unleashes a deep, guttural moan at the same time as he grabs her ankle and she shrieks before it quickly turns into laughter.

She ends up sprawling down beside him.

They quiet down and gaze up at the sky in companionable silence, both letting their heartbeats return to normal after their run. She knows she should probably continue stretching, but the moment is too peaceful to do much of anything but lay here beside her best friend.

Finn’s the first to break the silence. “So, this is where you’re going to stay?”

She turns her head to look at him, his arms resting behind his head as he smiles contently at her.

She nods. “I think so. It feels right, you know? It feels like home.”

“This seems like your type of place. And a good place for a school,” he says, smiling at her.

“Yeah. It is nice. It’s a good place.” She smiles back at him, thinking about how easily things have slipped back into place after their long separation. She’s kept in touch with him of course, and has already told him about the school, but it’s more than just their ongoing communication. There’s always been a strong bond between the two of them. She thinks that no matter how far the distance, they will always be able to pick up right where they had left off.

Finn smiles wider. “It’s home. You’ve got people here.”

Her smile softens, feeling an almost unbearable sort of fondness and warmth descend over her. “I’ve got people here.”

But then her smile fades a touch, and while most people wouldn’t pick up on it, well . . .

“What is it?”

“It’s nothing.” Her denial sounds fake even to her own ears.

“If something is bothering you, it’s not nothing,” Finn says adamantly.

She sighs, turning on to her side to face him more fully. “I think I messed up.”

“What do you mean?”

“With Poe. I think I hurt him, and I apologized, and he said it was alright, but . . . it feels like something changed?”

“I’d say so,” he huffs out, his voice so soft she thinks he didn’t mean for her to hear it, but her senses have always been almost uncannily strong. Then he shakes his head before turning on his side to face her too. “What happened?”

She tells him about the way she felt so lost and confused and bitter when she first came to Yavin IV. She tells him about her and Poe’s long conversations, the way she thought they had grown so close over the last few months as they recovered from the war, as he started his school here, as he helped her while she was searching for her own path. She told him about that conversation with Poe, the one where the puzzle pieces finally clicked into place, sending her into a frenzy of ideas and plans for her own school.

She told him that she got so busy, so distracted, that when she had first got caught up with her plans, she had gone to Kes for help, and in the midst of it all, forgot to tell Poe, letting him learn about it from his father.

“We were growing so close, and after all we’ve been through, all we talked about, I get how it would feel to be left out. I know how much that hurts. And he told me when he found out, and he didn’t make a thing about it or anything, and I apologized anyway, but . . .”

“But what?”

She sighs. “It just feels . . . different now. Like how sand feels shifting underneath your feet. Like, like —I don’t know.” She sighs again, heavier this time. “But maybe that’s not all. Maybe I’m misreading things.”

“Why do you say that?”

She glances up at the house briefly, to check to make sure they’re still alone, as if she usually wouldn’t be able to sense him — anyone, really — coming their way, though with her head feeling all muddled with a mix of confusion and want and need, she’s less than certain about her ability to do so at the moment. She shakes her head and flips onto her back, feeling too vulnerable to look at anyone when she’s about to say what she’s about to say, though she can’t pinpoint why exactly. “I think he and Karé might be becoming a thing? Or something? I just see them talking all the time, and he’s always got a hand on her back or is leaning in and whispering to her. And I know they’ve got a long history, and of course he would tell her things he wouldn’t tell me but . . . I don’t know.”

“But it hurts to think he’s becoming closer to her than you?”

Her hands cover her face and she groans.

Finn hums, but he doesn’t say anything.

She uncovers her face to take a peek at him and his face has a strange but knowing look. It’s not an uncommon look on him, not when his instincts are strong as they are, but she can’t figure out why he’s looking that way _now_. When he sees her looking, he just shrugs, a smirk on his face.

“What?” she asks, petulantly.

“I think you’re jealous.”

“No!” she protests. “It’s not that, it’s just—”

Finn arches an eyebrow. “When did you figure out you liked him?”

“What? Of course I like him, since as long as we’ve been in this fight.”

“You know that’s not what I meant,” Finn says, the smirk on his face only growing.

She’s about to protest again, but the fight leaves her suddenly. She sags even further into the ground. “I think it was the night of our last big conversation, the one that . . . inspired the plans for the school.”

“You like him, and you’re jealous and worried that he and Karé could become a thing.”

“No!”

Finn raises an eyebrow.

She sighs again.

Finn reaches out to take her hand in his. “I don’t think you need to be worried, peanut. He and Karé are close, sure, but not like that. They’re family. And I’ve got a feeling that Poe would not exactly be put off if he knew how you feel.”

“How would you know that?”

“An instinct, you could say. A feeling.”

She laughs, a soft release of air. “You say that so easily. But this feels so complicated. Why is this so difficult,” she moans out. “Why can’t things be easy for once.”

“Nothing that’s worth it is easy,” he says gently, as he squeezes her hand.

“I have no idea what to do, Finn,” she says, plaintively. “What do I do?”

“That’s the question, huh.” Finn laughs. “Maybe you should tell Poe.”

A shadow falls across their faces, and Rey shields her eyes and looks up to see Poe, still in his pajamas, looking down at them.

“Tell Poe what?” he asks.

She flushes, cursing her lack of focus, especially since she knew better. She wonders how much he’s heard, tries to figure out what to say, but luckily Finn jumps in first.

“Rey’s trying to kill me. How can you live on this miserable, sweltering planet? You’re both insane. I’m telling you, you’re both insane.”

Rey jabs a finger into Finn’s side, earning a grunt from him. “At least it’s not Jakku.”

“Oh, no, don’t say that word around me,” Finn says, poking her in the side in retaliation, and she rolls over onto her stomach, just out of range of his jabbing fingers.

“Keeping secrets from Poe, still?”

Rey squints at him, his voice packing a bite she hasn’t heard in a while, but she can’t quite make out his expression either. It’s frustrating, and it hurts because she thought they were growing close, and . . . and . . .

She glances at Finn, and his expression as he looks up at Poe is equally indecipherable. But while Poe looks almost as frustrated as she feels, Finn is . . . smirking?

“Maybe,” Finn says, and something passes over Poe’s face and then Finn is outright grinning.

After growing up alone on Jakku, she’s used to experiencing moments where social cues and interactions just go over her head, but right now, she can’t even begin to understand what is passing between the two men.

Poe heaves out a sigh and Finn just barely manages to bite back a chuckle. Poe points over his shoulder. “Just came out to tell you that Kes has breakfast ready if you two are hungry.”

Soon, they’re eating eggs and sipping at coffee and bantering, and she can almost pretend that things are returning to normal.

***

By the next afternoon, she knows things have _definitely_ not returned to normal.

She’s sitting with Finn by the firepit, a datapad in her lap as she chats with him, when she spies Poe walk out of the house and toward his awaiting speeder.

She sees the moment Poe notices them. He stutters to a stop and looks at them for a long moment. But then he just waves at her and Finn before climbing into the speeder and driving off.

She furrows her brow, puzzled. He’s barely spent any time with them while Finn was visiting, and she’s confused.

She glances at Finn, but he’s just wearing a smirk again. _That’s odd._

But then Finn’s comm’s pad alerts him to an incoming call and a moment later a hologram of Jannah is appearing before them.

Jannah appears alert, focused — not in danger, but she’s clearly a woman at work. Then she spies Rey beside Finn and her face broadens into a wide, delighted smile. “Hello, Rey!”

“Sure, don’t say hi to me,” Finn grumbles, but his face is nonetheless fond.

For her part, Rey smiles back at the hologram just as brightly as the other woman. “Hello, Jannah!” She hasn’t seen her since she had met up with them to run the mission on Dantooine, but she’s happy to see the other woman again. She hasn’t had all that much time to get to know her, but Rey has always known that she likes her.

They exchange small talk for a few minutes, but Rey knows Jannah had called Finn for a reason and after a few minutes Jannah and Finn exchange a look.

Finn leans over and squeezes Rey’s shoulder. “I need to talk with her alone. But I’ll be back soon.”

Rey watches as Finn disappears into the house and leans back into her chair and closes her eyes, thinking she’ll pass the time with some meditation. She lets her mind float, letting herself become aware of her surroundings in a deeper sense. She lets the peace of Yavin IV wash over her, but then frowns.

Finn’s presence is as bright as ever, but she senses worry and a strange unease emanating from him. It’s not a good feeling. She worries for her friend and what he and Jannah might be talking about.

At the same time, the other bright light in her mind still feels wrong, his presence spiky with . . . hurt? And there’s worry and maybe a similar feeling of wrong footedness as her.

She sighs and opens her eyes. She might be able to meditate later, but she doesn’t think she can find peace right now.

When Finn comes outside a few minutes later and sits back down next to her, she’s not put any more at ease when he turns to look at her, his face drawn and serious, and says, “We need to talk.”


	9. Chapter 9

He doesn’t like feeling like this.

The sense that he can’t quite get his footing, the growing jealousy, the uneasiness just beneath his skin, the unbearable heaviness in his chest —

He hates it. And he doesn’t know what to do with _any_ of it.

He felt it at times during the war, especially in the heavy days leading up to the battle of Exegol. But there was so much more to be worried about than that slight tinge of jealousy, that hint of bitterness. Back then, those feelings almost felt more like a distraction, a release from his worries and fears brought on by the fight.

But in the last few weeks, ever since everything went topsy-turvy with Rey, ever since he admitted to himself his feelings for the beautiful, amazing woman, and watched Finn and Rey come together once more, sharing smiles and secrets without him —

_Tell Poe what?_

It feels like he’s heading for disaster, and he’s desperate to shore up his shields. To protect himself.

He’s the one who has always run headfirst into battles to protect others. The idea that he has to take a step back to protect himself?

It’s new territory for him.

Still, while warning bells go off in the back of his brain warning him not to let himself get too close, to not let himself get to the point where he could be hurt —

Of course his heart doesn’t get the memo.

He’s in the midst of class when he has an idea for Rey’s own school. He grabs a stylus, jotting down a note to himself on his datapad while one of his students answers a question about the internal mechanisms of the XJ7 X-wing starfighter. He ends up finishing the class with an extra spring to his step.

 _You’re really setting yourself up for it, Dameron_.

He doesn’t see Rey at dinner, but he figures she must be in the shed at her workstation. Karé’s decided to head back to the guest house soon after dinner and he walks her there, their quiet conversation not quite finished.

She had been upset at school that day, and he figured she could use some quiet words of comfort, something to soothe the pain.

He’s leaning in close when he sees her look up, her attention suddenly focused somewhere in the distance, before waving. He follows Karé’s eyes and spots Rey, standing just at the edge of the path of the clearing, coming from the direction of the Force tree. He thinks they surprised her, because she looks startled, standing stock still, before she raises a hand to wave back at Karé.

One part of him wants to go to Rey, wants to see her now, to talk to her. The other part wants to make sure his old friend is okay.

Karé solves the dilemma for him. She squeezes his bicep and says, “Thanks, Dameron. But I’ll be alright tonight. Why don’t you go see to your girl?”

He grins and kisses Karé on the cheek, much to her amusement. He turns, his feet already heading towards the path, to Rey, but —

She’s gone.

He spots her disappearing into the shed. Within a few moments of her entering it, he knocks on the door and pops his head inside.

He winces as she visibly startles. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you. I just didn’t get a chance to catch you outside.”

She waves him in, but she still looks visibly flustered, her cheeks red, her eyes looking everywhere but at him, even as she says, “It’s alright.”

He’s concerned at her reaction though, wondering if there’s something on her mind. She must be distracted if he can startle her so easily.

“We missed you at dinner. There’s still some food in the fridge if you’re hungry.”

“I had a protein bar earlier.”

“Well, if you get hungry later . . .” he says, trailing off uncertainly as she turns away from him.

“I’m fine.”

Her answers are short and curt. It’s not like Rey at all. She sits down at the chair in front of the work bench, her hands moving almost rotely along the half-disassembled droid in front of her.

He can’t help but ask “You alright?”

“I’m fine.” A long pause, and then, “Something on your mind?”

“Yeah, actually . . .” he hesitates, but figures she’ll tell him if she doesn’t want to talk. He starts to launch into the idea he had for her school, but —

“Actually, I was thinking that maybe the school was a bad idea.”

“What?” he asks, his jaw dropping at the same time a sort of terror washes through him. She had seemed so keen on making a home here, the school just another step in that process, and now . . .

He imagines her ship leaving Yavin IV for good and he thinks it just might break him.

“It’s . . . I don’t know if it’s what I want. Maybe it’s a bad idea. Or maybe it should be located somewhere else? I mean, you’ve got the academy here—”

“What’s the academy got to do with it?”

“Just a lot of people here already.”

Her reply is short and curt and it’s so frustrating that he bites out, “I thought you liked it here?”

“I do. But maybe I could like it elsewhere too.”

He drags a hand through his hair, trying to make sense of this conversation. “Where’s this coming from?”

She shakes her head, trying for nonchalant, but she’s hiding something. He knows it.

She shrugs. “Just thinking.”

“What’s going on?” Suddenly, fear lodges in his throat, memories springing to mind unbidden. He might not know Rey half as well as he’d like, but he still knows her. He knows something is wrong.

He’s suddenly desperate with the need to know what’s wrong. Maybe he could help her.

“Nothing,” she replies, still not looking at him.

“Rey, please.” He knows he’s just on the edge of begging. He doesn’t care.

“Poe, I’d like to be left alone now. I want to get some work done.”

The dismissal is obvious even if she won’t face him. He nods, feels tears welling up in his eyes.

He leaves her be.

***

The guilt tears into her, leaving her gut raw and aching.

It’s not even that she was particularly cruel or biting in her remarks. But she knows she hurt Poe.

She just doesn’t want him to get hurt. She doesn’t want any of them to get hurt, not for her.

But somehow she had done exactly what she was trying to prevent.

Breakfast was tense, and Poe left soon after to go to the academy. Rey had gotten up from the table too and went outside to work on the Falcon.

Even if she hadn’t seen Karé walk onto the porch with a cup of caf in her hands, she would feel the other woman’s eyes on her. Quiet, assessing, and . . . amused?

Rey wasn’t surprised when she sensed the other woman walking over to her, and heaves out a sigh.

It’s not that she didn’t want to talk to the other woman, but just maybe . . . not now?

At least the other woman skips the small talk, which Rey finds refreshing.

Then again, the first thing she says is “We never have as much time as we think. You should tell him.”

Rey fumbles the hydrospanner and it drops to the ground. She spins to face Karé. “What do you mean?” she asks, even though she has the uncomfortable sinking sensation that she knows exactly what the other woman means.

Karé’s smile is knowing, even smug.

_But wait. If she and Poe are . . . why would she want me to tell him?_

“I don’t understand,” Rey says softly, her eyes searching for a distraction before eventually landing on Karé’s face.

The other woman just smiles wider.

“What are you afraid of?”

“Nothing,” Rey starts. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You don’t hide your feelings nearly as well as you think, though I’ll admit at first I was unsure _exactly_ what you were thinking.” Karé steps to Rey’s side, her gaze thoughtful even as she runs an admiring hand along the Falcon’s hull. “At first I thought it was just fear. You know, post-war, post-battle, death and loss is on everyone’s mind,” she says, and even if Rey couldn’t see the shadow cross Karé’s face, she could _feel_ it. “It makes sense that you wouldn’t tell him then, even if maybe you should have. It’s understandable.”

Karé pauses for a long moment but Rey senses she’s not done.

“Then I thought maybe jealousy was stopping you.”

Rey sucks in a breath.

Karé sees, because of course she does. She’s always been remarkably observant, but she just smirks. “I don’t know or really even care to understand the Jedi’s viewpoints on emotion and love and relationships and all that. That’s the past, and I know whatever you come up with will make sense. But that’s not what’s happening here, is it? Maybe it’s that you see two people who are obviously close, and if you’re unsure where you stand with that person, it could make things . . . complicated. It would make sense, even if the relationship between the other two people was just friendship. Close friendship, even familial. You’d know what that’s like, right?”

Rey’s been in fights before. She’s been caught in both the metaphorical and literal crosshairs. She knows what it feels like when someone is aiming up their shot, and the inevitable certainty that it’s going to land dead on.

She steels herself.

Karé leans back against the hull next to Rey, her voice suddenly turning soft. “But that’s not it either, right? Not to say you don’t feel any of that, but it’s more than just that, isn’t it? You think there might be something there between Poe and me. And you think you’ll do the nice thing, the honorable thing, and step back. I’ve seen the way you look at us when we’re talking. It’s not fear, and it’s something more than just jealousy. It’s resignation. You have feelings for him, but you think he has feelings for me, and maybe I would have feelings for him soon if I don’t already. Tell me, am I close?”

Karé’s aim is true and Rey can’t meet her eyes.

But she nods.

To her surprise, Karé breaks out in laughter. “Kriff, you two are really perfect for each other, you know that?” She laughs again. “You two honorable _idiots_. You two would sacrifice your own happiness just to ensure the other one was happy. Which, believe me, does say a lot about how honorable, if stupid, you two are, considering you two are so madly in love with each other.”

She should have known that her feelings for Poe were obvious. A scavenger girl growing up alone on Jakku never had much opportunity to practice hiding her feelings, and —

“Wait, what?” Rey breathes out, her head spinning as her brain finally catches up to Karé’s words.

“Don’t tell him I told you that, but _kriff_ , if I wait for either one of you to make a move on the other, I’ll be an old woman, and believe me, I ain’t waiting for that. But he’s madly in love with you, and I’m betting I’m not wrong if I say you’re madly in love with him.”

Karé moves a step closer, the gesture comforting as Rey has found that her world has suddenly shifted on its axis. “Maybe you two didn’t exactly realize it until recently, cause the world has been upside-down and I get it’s not easy to know how to feel when it’s like that but Rey,” Karé says, her face softening as she continues to look at the younger woman. “When I was with Snap . . . listen to me, we wasted a lot of time before finally getting together. A lot of time we could have been together, where we could have been happy _together_. It was war, and war . . . war can be difficult on relationships. I regret every single moment we weren’t together though . . . even if it was Snap’s fault,” and she grins, but her eyes are sad, and Rey’s helpless to do anything but listen to the other woman.

Karé continues. “I don’t know everything that’s going on between you two. But you and Finn have each other, and me and Poe have each other, but what you and Poe have? That’s something entirely different, and something incredibly special. You shouldn’t throw that away. Or waste time.”

Rey feels something trickle down her cheek, and when she swipes at it with her hand it comes away wet. She doesn’t know when she started crying, but her mind is a mess from what she’s learned recently, and she’s so overwhelmed. “It’s never really over though, is it? The war? The fighting? There’s so much that could go wrong.”

Karé’s face creases in concern. “Even outside of the fight, there’s things that could go wrong. That’s never going to change. But the other thing that also won’t change is the fact that love is very much worth it. It’s worth everything.” Karé reaches out to take Rey’s hand in hers. “Listen, I don’t pretend to know what you’re going through. You’re far too young to have this much weight on your shoulders, but you do. And I know you have Finn, and I have Poe, but I can be there for you too, you know? If you ever need to talk. I’ll be here.”

Rey swallows hard, but she can’t quite talk around the emotions lodged in her throat. Karé must sense it though, and she just gives the Falcon’s hull another pat. “This is a good ship. I’ll let you get back to it.”

Rey knows that she managed to hurt Poe the other night, even though it wasn’t intentional but also sort of was. She knows she needs to fix it, but everything’s so complicated . . .

But maybe it’s a little less complicated now.

She manages to breathe out a soft “Thank you” as Karé turns to leave.

Karé gives her a single nod, a soft smile playing at her lips, before heading back to the guest house.

***

With Finn leaving soon after he told her of Jannah’s news, and Poe at the academy during the day, she finds herself spending her days working with Kes on plans for the new school and thinking.

But mostly she spends her days listening to the call that’s urging her to the old Massassi temple.

“What was it like there?”

“It was a busy place. Hectic, really. But it was . . . there were a lot of good people there doing good work, doing whatever we could to help the galaxy, and to make it a better place.”

Something haunted had drifted across Kes’s face when she had asked the question, and she decided not to pry any further. Something told her this wasn’t the way to find the information she sought, even if she’s not entirely sure what information she was looking for in the first place.

Instead, she joins him at the kitchen counter while he shows her how to make apple cake and talks to her about a potential spot for her school, perfectly situated at a spot between the village, the academy, and the homestead. She hasn’t told Kes yet that she was considering leaving ( _considering running_ , her mind shoots back), but at his words, something warm spreads through her, something that told her _this was right_.

By the end, the Jedi of old were too isolated, cut off from the bonds of family and friends, and too focused on their little corner of the world, to see the broader needs of the community.

Here, the idea that they would be halfway between a home and the community at large seemed to be a way to address the problems of old, even if the location was just symbolic.

And if Kes didn’t want to talk to her about the Massassi temple, that was okay with her. He’s given her so much, she doesn’t want to push him when it so clearly hurt.

But Poe had offered to show her the temple.

And she needs to apologize to him anyway.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings for this chapter: a main character is attacked. It's a brief moment and there's no blood/other major injuries depicted (essentially it's a dart to the neck) but it results in unconsciousness. 
> 
> As an additional note, I pretty much only write happy endings (which is probably very obvious if you've read any of my other works, lol). And if you have any questions, feel free to ask me here or find me on tumblr at starlight-and-seafire!

It’s late in the evening when Poe gets back to the house and he settles down at his desk to finish the last of his reports for the day. But moments later, he hears a soft knock against the door frame and then Rey is placing a hunk of apple cake and a cup of blue milk down on his desk next to him.

He looks up at her to find her eyes sad, her face downcast.

Immediately his heart aches to comfort her. It’s not like he could ever stay mad at her anyway, even if she didn’t already have him wrapped around her little finger.

Still, his heart aches for other reasons too, ones he doesn’t mind ignoring for a little while when she asks him if he was busy.

He looks at the stack of reports on his desk that he needs to finish soon, but he tells her, “I have a few minutes.”

There’s something indecipherable in her expression as she sits with him and shares his cake (“I don’t know, I had a piece earlier when it came out of the oven,” she said. He had just raised his eyebrow and with a hesitant smile, she dug in.)

He misses her. And even if it hurts, he’ll take whatever little bit of her company she’ll give him, even it’s just a few minutes.

Then she asks if he would show her the temple tomorrow. He knows it’s going to be a late night for him anyway —

But he agrees to her request. Not that he could ever say no to her anyway.

“And after . . . could we talk after?”

She doesn’t say anything else, but her smile is shy, yet hopeful —

Well, he already knew he couldn’t say no to her.

So he says yes to that too, and her smile grows wider.

“I’ll let you get back to work then,” she says, and his eyes follow her as she stands and heads to the door.

He’s still looking at her when she pauses, her hand resting on the door frame, and looks back at him over her shoulder, their eyes meeting.

For one brief moment, his heart stops in his chest, before it leaps back to life, his world suddenly thrown off-kilter once again just by a single look.

It takes him awhile before he can focus on his reports again.

***

The next morning he’s driving them to the temple. The students will mostly be in their rooms or headed down to the lake for the day, so Rey will be able to explore without too big of a possibility of coming across any students.

He parks outside the hangar, and while he considers himself about as force sensitive as a potato, even he can sense the history, and the magic, in this place.

On the other hand, Rey takes two steps away from the speeder and her eyes close as she takes in deep, slow breathes, and he sees that familiar introspective expression descend across her face, the one that he’s only ever seen when she’s meditating.

_Can Jedi even get into a trance that fast?_

He only has a moment to wonder at that before he’s distracted by the way the light reflects off her hair, the way it highlights her cheekbones. Her beauty is only magnified by the myriad expressions that now cross her face. Awe, wonder, joy, sadness, fear . . . at the last, he worries, wonders what she’s seeing, wants to step forward to comfort her, to take away her fear, but something holds him in place. Something tells him she needs to do this.

They stand there for a few minutes before she lets out a deep sigh and her eyes finally open.

He shows her around the temple, but the rest of the tour is much the same. Every few minutes there will be a new place, a new room, and she’ll look around, and maybe her hands will trace the wall or some object, and then her eyes will close, and Poe will be left to watch and wonder.

He has his own memories, at least in a sense, of this place. He wasn’t alive yet when the real history was made here in the time of rebellion, but with the bits and pieces he’s managed to cobble together from his parents and his parents’ friends, sometimes he thinks he can sense their presence, their ghosts, haunting the corridors of this place.

Once when he was a child, running the darkened corridors alone, he almost thought he heard cheers and the sounds of celebration.

The sound had faded before he could listen too closely.

They turn a corner and Rey stumbles, and his hand darts out to grasp her elbow before she tumbles to the ground.

She recovers her footing and blinks up at him, and he’s suddenly aware of how close the two are, her wide eyes and parted lips just inches from his.

He licks his suddenly dry lips. “You okay?”

“Yeah, I—” and she swallows. “Can you feel this?”

His eyes widen in surprise, and he’s left speechless for a moment, maybe a moment too long — _does she mean . . . ?_ — but then she shakes her head a little, moving back a fraction of a step.

He lets his hand drop.

She turns away from him to look out into the large, cavernous room.

“There’s so much . . . darkness here. Remnants, ghosts, wisps of feelings really. There’s darkness but there’s so much more _light_. Poe, I can feel them. The Rebellion. Leia and Luke, your parents,” she says, turning back to face him, even as tears spring to his eyes at the mention of Kes and Shara Bey. She reaches out a hand to him and he takes it instinctively. “They were all here. No matter how hopeless things were, how desperate. No matter how uncertain . . . they kept fighting. I can _see_ them.”

“You can see them?”

“Moments, really. Brief, but clear.” She steps closer, her eyes questioning. “Can I show you?”

“How?”

Her eyes look sad, and without her saying anything, he knows.

He still deals with nightmares of his torture on the Finalizer. And she knows it. And he’s sure that if there was any other way to show him, that she would do it, but there _isn’t_ —

But he has the chance to see his mother again. So, he nods.

She grabs his other hand, both of his hands clasped in hers now, and within a moment, he falls back into the past, sees Luke and Wedge and the pilots being given their orders. It’s more than just a memory, it feels like he’s there, and Poe can feel his heart speed up.

Then, he sees his parents, standing in the same spot he and Rey are now in, speaking in hushed whispers as his mother preps for battle against the first Death Star. His parents touch foreheads before Shara Bey begins to leave, and for one brief moment, Poe thinks she sees _him_ when she halts and peers back over her shoulder for one last lingering look.

The scene changes and the sounds of cheers and revelry fills the room. People are hugging and crying, joyful and grieving in equal measure. Poe sees his parents again, and he wishes he could move closer to them, could see what they looked like when they were young and happy, when the shadows weren’t quite as long. Luke and Leia enter the scene, and even Han Solo, and they’re all coming together in celebration, before parting ways once more.

It’s a scene that happens over and over again.

But there’s more too, bits and pieces from the time the Rebellion base on Yavin IV was founded to the fear and turmoil of the evacuation. He sees his parents, and Luke Skywalker and Leia Organa and Han Solo, and so many other heroes too, from Mon Mothma and Hera Syndulla, to Kanan Jarrus and Wedge Antilles. So many good people, all here under this one roof, all coming together for a common goal.

When the vision finally ends, once more centered on Shara Bey and Kes huddled together with Luke and Leia and Han — _and wait,_ wait _, Shara Bey is looking right at him now, can she see him? He feels like she must, her look is too knowing, and so, so loving, but how, how?_ — and then it feels like he’s emerging from underwater, and he’s left heaving for breath, overwhelmed and wanting to see more all at once.

“Is this what you came to see?” he manages to gasp out.

“There were other things too,” she says, a hint of a smile on her face. He wants to ask her about them, but then she says, “I’ll tell you about them later. But I think I was meant to show you this.”

He wants to thank her, over and over again, for showing him this. He doesn’t think there are enough ways to say thank you, but he opens his mouth to try —

And promptly breaks down crying.

It’s been more than two decades since he’s seen his mother. And the gift Rey’s given him now?

She takes him in her arms, and lets him bury his face in her neck as the tears stream out. He doesn’t ever think he can find the words to thank her for this. But as she whispers soft, comforting words into his ear, he thinks she knows just what it means to him.

***

By the time they make the trip back home, Rey thinks Poe seems to be in much livelier spirits than he was earlier at the temple. There’s still a chasm between them, one she knows is full of misunderstandings and unsaid things. And she still needs to apologize to him for her outburst the other day too, and to tell him _why._

There’s also the lingering effects of the vision earlier. The grief isn’t completely gone, but now she senses peace in him too, a renewed sense of purpose, and even more joy than before. It’s like he’s seen the dark, but by acknowledging its presence, the light can shine in more fully.

She doesn’t tell him everything she saw, not yet. Even if she could explain it, could put the emotions and feelings and sensory details into words, she thinks that some of the things she saw in her visions were only meant for her, and some things were meant to be shared later. But she does tell him that while at the temple she saw shadows of the Sith past, things that were only hinted at in the ancient Jedi texts and in Luke’s annotations. That maybe there was more at work there too, something light and good. That in the constant battle between the light and the dark, from the Force tree to the temple, to the fight of the Rebellion against the Empire, to the current day . . .

“There’s something pulling us to this place. I don’t know what it all means yet. Maybe I’ll never know.”

She also tells him that she had seen the same moments between his parents and her mentors as he had seen them. She sensed something there in those moments, where they had come together before parting, sensed there was more to the story than just that vision. She needs to think about it more.

In the meantime, she tells him a few other things that she had sensed at the temple, too, like the victory celebration in the aftermath of the first Death Star’s destruction.

She grins. “No wonder there were so many victory babies born after that.”

Poe’s hands slip on the wheel a little as he bursts out laughing, and she delights in the sound.

By the time they return to the house, it’s late in the evening, the sun having long since set. The sky is streaked with blue and green and purple lights, the air thick with humidity and the smell of so much green. Everything feels soft and right. The kind of moment where it’s easy to stop thinking and just _feel._

Without saying anything, they ignore the path to the house and continue walking for a little while longer.

They’re talking in hushed tones, walking so close to each other that their shoulders brush. She feels lightening streak down her arm every time, the feeling only leaving her craving more. She’s been growing steadily more and more aware of him as time moves forward, and she can’t ignore it anymore.

She needs to tell him.

She takes his hand and steps in front of him, so close their feet almost brush each other.

He’s beautiful in the moonlight.

She’s wrapped up entirely in him, when she says, “Have I ever told you how bright you are? You’re warm and golden and . . . and you feel like the sun.”

He blinks and his lips part. But he doesn’t say anything at first, just stares at her. Then she sees his tongue dart out to lick at his lips. She can’t help but move in another step closer, caught hopelessly in his orbit.

“I think we may have to disagree there,” he says, his voice huskier than she ever remembers hearing. “You’re the only sun I see around here. Just . . . stunning. Absolutely beautiful.”

Her hand reaches up to his cheek and she wonders if he can feel her trembling as she touches his face and strokes her fingers across his skin. The stubble lining his jaw is rough, and it rasps deliciously against her fingertips. Her heart slams into her chest, and something electric races through her when she realizes he’s staring at her lips, and they’re moving even closer —

Then Rey’s comm beeps, the tone alerting her to a high priority message.

They’re still caught in each other’s pull though, their lips only a hair’s breadth apart, but then they’re pulling back.

“It’s Finn,” she says, as she looks at the ID. She’s disappointed, and maybe even a little angry, except she senses that Finn wouldn’t call her on this frequency unless it was important.

Poe rubs the back of his neck, and, even in the darkness, she sees his cheeks are flushed. “I’ll let you take that, then?”

“I’ll be right behind you,” she says, smiling at him, cautiously at first. But his face is at once shy, wondering, and joyful, and it’s that expression that lets her know she hasn’t imagined what just transpired here between them. She may not have the most experience with this, with whatever this could be, and there’s so much that they both need to say, but that look on his face . . .

Her chest is swamped with joy and love and so much _hope_ that she feels like she could drown in it, and she lets her smile grow, and he’s smiling back at her, the look on his face blossoming into something so bright it’s almost blinding.

She hopes that he sees everything that she feels for him until they can finally redo this moment and she can actually _tell_ him how she feels.

Because she thinks that he just might feel the same.

He nods at her, says “See you in a few” before heading toward the house, and she answers Finn’s call.

“What’s up, Finn?” Rey says in lieu of greeting.

“I’m glad I caught you, Rey, I . . .” he trails off, the hologram of Finn cocking his head to the side as if working out a puzzle. She wonders if he senses what just happened. Maybe it’s written in the blush on her cheeks, the brightness of her eyes, or the way she can feel her smile stretching at her lips, making her cheeks ache with it. All she knows right now, all she feels, is _Poe_.

The path forward for her, at least in one respect, seems to be getting clearer. And for the first time, she has hope that it’s a path she won’t be alone on.

She hopes this call won’t take long. She’d rather be focusing on other things right now.

Above her communicator, the blue-tinged image of Finn shakes his head as if to clear it.

“Listen Rey, we were right. We received some new intelligence a few minutes ago. But it’s worse than we thought. They’re not just trying to scout out the locations on that list anymore. And they definitely know you were there. They’ve been looking for you, and Rey, I think they’ve found you. Jannah is alerting the space port there and civil defense, but you and Kes and Poe need to be on guard and — REY! REY!”

Finn’s voice shouting her name is the last thing she hears as she feels the prick at her neck and she falls to the ground.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Content warnings: there's the implication of violence on Poe's part against the bounty hunter, and the mention of physical wounds on Rey, but it's only briefly referenced. Rey is unconscious though through the use of poisons, and Poe is of course very upset, and this results in an extended exploration of Poe's thoughts pertaining to Kylo Ren and his use of Force-healing on Exegol to save Rey's life.

_“I’ll be back soon. I promise.”_

Rey had told him that in the moments before she left on the Falcon for Dantooine to meet up with Finn and Jannah and their team.

Those words haunt him now. But not nearly as much as what Poe still needs to tell her, and the memory of her face, flushed and glowing in the moonlight, when they almost kissed, her lips moving to tell him “I’ll be right behind you” when she had to take Finn’s call.

_“See you in a few,” he had replied, feeling like he was floating on air as he walked back to the house to wait for her._

He chokes back a sob now, dropping his head to his knees as the memory cuts through him as sharp as a knife and nearly as deadly.

He should have known. He should have sensed something, _heard something_.

But no, he let himself get distracted, wasting valuable time that could have been better used to protect her, to save her.

Valuable minutes were lost between him leaving Rey and the message from Finn coming through on his comm. It’s only thanks to his close bond with Finn and the almost inevitable shorthand that he had developed with the other man that they didn’t lose more time between Rey being attacked and him grabbing his dad, weapons, and two of the droids to follow him into the darkness.

It was almost a surprise that, in addition to BB-8, it was D-O, the scared and skittish droid, instead of R2-D2, that followed them into the night.

But Rey had inspired an undying devotion in the small droid, and R2-D2 was better used to try to intercept communications between Rey’s attackers and monitor traffic on the planet anyway.

Still, it had taken hours to find her, even with R2-D2 communicating to them the trajectory of a ship that had ignored Yavin’s civil defense forces to set down on the edge of the jungle several klicks west of the homestead.

He’s never been so grateful for Kes teaching him tracking and survival skills as a young man. Muscle memory had cut through his desperation and terror, had let his body continue forward, to fight, when he had spotted Rey’s body — _no, don’t think of it that way, she was alive, she’s still alive_ — unmoving and seemingly lifeless.

He doesn’t know what happened next. He doesn’t particularly care to remember.

All he knows is that Kes and BB-8 offered to stay behind with the bound and unconscious man while he carried Rey back to the homestead, her body too still, her breath too shallow, as he held her in his arms.

D-O followed them back, sending a message to the village doctor along the way, who was waiting for them by the time they arrived at the house.

Rey’s been unconscious for the two days since. The physical wounds littering the outside of her body were easier for the doctor to treat. But the poison injected into her to make her unconscious and unable to fight back wasn’t easily identifiable. It was an unknown quantity, with no known antidote, at least to the village doctor and the New Republic’s medical database.

It’s likely the bounty hunter who took her down knew more about it. Or maybe the bounty hunter’s clients. But so far, the man in custody wasn’t talking.

So the doctor and her nurse made Rey comfortable. They’re monitoring her vitals. But all they can do is wait.

Now, as Poe waits beside her, waiting for Rey to wake up, _wake up, Rey, please wake up_ , there’s nothing to do but think.

The day after the attack, as he sat by Rey’s bed, he had become stuck on one memory, replaying it over and over in his mind. In the dark of night weeks before, he and Rey had sat on the porch, helpless to do anything but try to avoid their nightmares, and she had told him more about her time on Exegol. She had told him about what happened with Kylo Ren.

Poe still refuses to call him anything but that name, too angry at the choices Kylo made throughout his life. He’s still enraged at how Kylo had kidnapped and tortured Rey, had tortured him, and killed his friends and allies. He still seethes at how he had hurt Finn and the other stormtroopers in ways that could never be fully conceived of, how he had manipulated people and destroyed lives, all seemingly without a second thought.

The way he had hurt and killed his own family, all in an attempt to gain more and more power, and to put the galaxy under his control.

Kylo Ren was an evil man. He’d hurt, _destroyed_ , so many lives.

But he had given his life for Rey. And that one singular moment . . .

Well, it’s not enough to forgive him.

But Poe is tormented with the thought, the feeling of it grotesque and livid somewhere deep in his gut, that he almost wishes that Kylo was alive again . . . to what? So he can give his life for Rey’s again? Heal her? If it meant Rey would live, could Poe be okay with the idea of Kylo surviving somehow?

He knows the attack could have been much worse. And he knows there’s no guarantee of her future safety, no matter how much he wishes for it to be different, no matter how much they plan for any eventuality.

He also knows without a shadow of a doubt that he’d give anything for Rey to be okay.

But the thought of Kylo, in this moment . . .

There’s a knock on the door, and he lifts his head to see Kes poking his head into the room.

“Any change?”

Poe looks back to Rey, lying motionless on the bed. He squeezes her hand that is clasped in his, strokes his thumb across her knuckles, once then twice, before turning back to his dad and shaking his head.

Kes nods sadly. “The nurse is here to do her check. Why don’t we get some food in you while she’s looking Rey over?”

Poe doesn’t want to go, but he knows Rey would want some privacy for this, even if she’s not awake to know. As the nurse walks in, bag in hand and a comforting smile on her face, he staggers out, still caught in a tsunami of fear and anger and worry and grief and failure.

He should have found her sooner.

He should’ve known . . . something. He’s not sure what. But he should have known.

“Sit,” Kes says, pointing at the kitchen table.

Poe complies mindlessly and watches as Kes shuffles around the table. In moments, there’s a muffin and a steaming cup of tea in front of him.

“How are you doing?” Kes asks him, his own cup of tea clasped between his hands.

“I’m okay.” His voice sounds unconvincing even to his own ears.

So of course his dad catches on. “Son,” Kes says, his voice firm. Poe knows that if he doesn’t want to talk that Kes wouldn’t push him, but . . .

This is his dad.

Poe shakes his head. “I’m not okay.”

Kes shuffles his chair closer to Poe, so he can reach out and squeeze Poe’s shoulder comfortingly. “She’s going to be okay.”

Poe huffs out a laugh, tired and ragged, even as he stares down at the table, unable to meet Kes’s eyes. “How do you know that? She’s unconscious. There’s any number of things that can happen. Any number of things that could still go wrong.”

“She’ll make it through okay. She’s going to be okay. She’s strong. She’s the toughest person I know.”

“I know. Don’t you think I know that? But . . . why does she have to be strong? Is it really too much to ask that she be safe for once? That she doesn’t always have to be fighting, for the galaxy, for herself?”

“We don’t always get that choice in life. You know that. We can’t control what happens to us. We can only control how we respond to it.”

Poe finally looks up at his dad. He looks older now than he had just days ago. More tired. The thought of it cuts through Poe sharply. “I know, dad, I know. It’s just . . . it’s just . . .” and then his voice breaks.

The tears begin to rush out of him then, unbidden.

His father shuffles his chair even closer, until he can wrap his arms around his son, one around his back, the other one around his chest. Poe clutches at his father’s arm as he cries, knowing he’s staining Kes’s shirt with his tears.

In between his sobs, he manages to gasp out, “I love her, dad. I love her.”

“I know,” Kes says, his arms tightening around Poe. “I know.”

Poe can’t see him, not from where he has his face hidden away in Kes’s arm, but Poe knows, without a shadow of doubt, that there’s tears in Kes’s eyes too. 

But Poe can’t focus on any of that. He can only focus on Rey, even as his father whispers soothing words to him as he cries.

“It’s alright, son. Let it out. I’ve got you. Just hold on . . . just hold on.”

While his father’s voice washes over him, the only thought Poe can muster is, _come back to me, Rey. Come back to me. Come home._

***

_She’s been here before. High in the jungle trees of Yavin IV, perched on a sturdy branch, her eyes scan the area, once more overcome by the beautiful, vast vista before her, as a soft breeze brushes her skin._

_So much green, so much life, all of it filling her blood in ways she could never comprehend. It’s perfect here. She feels the Force flowing gently around her, knows she’s just one of many pieces working together in harmony._

_She can feel it all, Kes, Karé and Iolo, the droids, the way the koyo grows in the orchard and the morning sun fills the eastern facing rooms with a warm golden light. There’s the temple and its students, her friends, and the villagers, all living together . . ._

_In harmony._

_But not quite. Something is off. Something is out of place._

_There’s a feeling that washes over her, until it coalesces into a warm, golden, and familiar voice._

_Come home. Come home._

_This is home, she thinks, looking out over Yavin IV._

_But that’s not quite right, is it?_

_Something’s off. It’s incomplete._

_Come home, she hears the voice whisper again. Come home._

***

Poe’s slumped in the armchair beside the bed, half caught in a doze, the other half aware as ever of Rey’s pulse beating steadily beneath his fingers that rest on her wrist. There’s a monitor on her other arm, the vitals it tracks reflecting on the monitor sitting on the night table.

He awakens at every beep alerting him to a change, eyes darting to the display, until he’s assured it was just a momentary blip. The doctor had told him it was just a precautionary measure, but if anything would change, it would alert her at her house immediately.

Despite the doctor’s assurances, he remains more than a little terrified that Rey remains unconscious. And as long as she remains so, he vows to stay by her side, only moving when the nurse arrives or Kes pulls him out to shower and eat.

But now, as the moon rides high over Yavin IV, and everything is peaceful, he sits beside her in constant vigil, her steady breathing lulling him into sleep once more.

And then her arm, resting beneath his hand, moves, and his eyes jump open, where they meet hers.

All the breath leaves his body in a sudden rush and he stands, his hand smoothing her hair off her forehead, as he leans in close.

“Hey there, sunshine,” he whispers, voice wet with tears that he refuses to shed until he’s completely certain that she’s okay.

Her brow furrows and her tongue dips out to lick her bottom lip as she looks around. “Poe? What — what’s going on?”

“How much do you remember?”

“I—,” and she pauses again, her throat working.

“Thirsty?”

She nods, and he grabs a cup sitting nearby and places a straw in it, before gently helping her sit up.

“Easy now,” he says, as she takes tentative sips.

When they settle her back down, she reaches out for him, and he places his hand in hers as she starts talking. “I remember . . . the temple. I remember getting home and then Finn calling and feeling,” and her other hand, the one not holding his, cautiously presses against her neck where the dart had pierced her skin. “Someone attacked me?”

He nods.

“How did I get here?”

He struggles with what to tell her, swallowing around his own memories of finding her, finding _them_. . .

“You found me?”

He nods again, unable to take his eyes away from her, and she’s returning his look —

And then her hand is easing out from under his, and he almost feels bereft at the loss of her touch, but then her hand is touching his face, resting against his cheek.

“You found me,” she says, softly.

He can’t help it. He presses a kiss to her palm. “I found you,” he says. “And you’ve come back to me.”

“Yes,” she says, and her eyelids are growing heavy, sleep calling to her, and he’s not sure she even knows that she says one more word before drifting off to sleep peacefully.

“Always.”

He stands so he can call the doctor, and he finally lets the tears come, so happy that she’s come back to him.

They can figure out the rest later.

***

Rey’s a little slower than usual the first few days after the attack. She gets tired a little more easily, and she’ll have sudden shocks of pain that radiate down through her limbs. But, as the doctor promised, the effects seem to be subsiding with time.

Rey doesn’t even protest when he offers her his arm to help her down the stairs, or grow frustrated with how often he asks her, “Do you need anything?” or “Are you comfortable?” or even, “More blankets? Pillows? Anything?”

Instead she just smiles at him fondly as he helps settle her on the couch downstairs, and teases him, “Are you always such a mother hen, Poe?”

He thinks about that same accusation coming from his squadron’s mouths on more than one occasion. “Of course not.”

She smirks at him, clearly catching him in the lie. He winks back at her, and is more than delighted to see a faint pink stain her cheeks. The sight of it is absolutely delicious and he can’t help but reach out and tuck a wisp of hair behind her ear, watching as her mouth drops open at the motion, her tongue dipping out to wet her lower lip, and he wants so badly to lean down and press his lips to her, finally kiss those lips that he’s been dreaming of.

But they need to talk first.

There’s been an increase in patrols in the area and in the air since that night, and he’s learned more about the events surrounding the attack. And the part of him that is so focused on Rey, is even more focused on keeping her safe, and . . . and now’s not the time.

He pulls his hand back, but the disappointment on her face has him relieved that she still seems to feel the same, at the same time it almost draws him back in.

But now’s not the time, and he reaches over to the remote and flips the TV on. “Now, what do you wanna watch?”

***

It’s not that he’s been avoiding Finn since he arrived back on Yavin IV, but when the other man knocks on the door jamb of the study, Poe glances over his shoulder just long enough to see who it is and say “Rey’s sleeping,” before turning back to his work.

To be fair, Finn’s also been pretty busy down at the civil defense headquarters interrogating the bounty hunter, searching his ship, and coordinating with Jannah and the New Republic forces assigned to his team.

Poe had seen him that first night he arrived when he came by to visit Rey, and briefly when he informed him and Kes and the rest of his old squadron what was going on before returning to work.

Finn is determined, focused, and clearly exhausted. Poe almost feels bad for him, except for the lingering anger that simmers in his blood.

He knew — they all did — that Rey would always be a target for First Order sympathizers, as long as any remained around. Kylo Ren and the rest of them had seen to that when they targeted her throughout the war. Kylo’s constant hunt for Rey, his single-minded focus on her and her power, made certain that she was going to be a target for as long as anyone was around to remember it.

Over the comm that first, horrendous night, in those moments where they discovered Rey had gone missing, Finn had told them it was the mission to Dantooine that led to the attack on Rey here.

Ever since, Poe’s been haunted by the moment when he and Rey had been standing, so close together, almost — and then Finn’s call had come through.

He knows Finn and Rey share a bond that he’ll never fully understand, but there’s a sinking suspicion in his heart that they had kept something from him, something that endangered not just Rey, but his father, and their friends too.

He knows he’s been cold to Finn. He’s been too scared to know if Finn had been keeping something of this magnitude from him.

And if Finn had, that would mean Rey too, most likely.

“Alright, let’s talk it out, Dameron,” Finn says, striding over to sit on the couch that not long ago had been occupied by Rey herself as they shared a slice of apple cake. “What do you want to know?”

Poe blinks, momentarily thrown for a loop. If he didn’t know how spot-on Finn’s instincts could be, he might be worried that Finn was reading his mind.

But that thought barely gets a moment of consideration, and he blurts out, “Did you know they were planning to attack her?”

“Not until that night. I mean, we all knew that she was going to be a target. She always will be as long as she’s alive probably,” and Finn pauses, a shadow crossing his face, as Poe swallows heavily. The two men will probably also have enemies as long as they’re alive, from people who hate their roles in the war, but . . .

But they both know the targets on their backs will never be as large as Rey’s. And while they can prepare for the possibility, they all know there’s nothing they can do to eliminate the danger entirely.

“So, what happened?” Poe asks, once he’s able to move past the grief in his throat.

“What do you know of the Dantooine mission?”

Poe doesn’t have to rack his memory for details. The whole conversation with Rey returns to him with an almost eerie clarity. “There was a village that had been named on a list held by the First Order. No one knew why, just that it was a high-profile target, and it was being targeted by a small group of First Order sympathizers. You were able to get the First Order out of there before they discovered a cave full of kyber crystals and Force-sensitive children.”

“That’s right. We were able to get the First Order away from there, and we kept a small team in the vicinity to keep an eye on things. But then I had gotten the call from Jannah.”

“On the night Rey was attacked?”

Finn shakes his head. “No. When I was here.”

“That was weeks ago. What happened then? Was there another attack?”

“No, but Jannah had called. They had intercepted a communique. The group still hadn’t discovered exactly why the villages were on that list, and they knew there was a good chance that they were being watched closely after the previous attack. But they were discussing the possibility that it might have something to do with the Force. What else would have been prized so highly, would have been so classified, during Snoke and Kylo’s regime? There was also a mention of the Jedi, but nothing particularized.”

“Did they say they were after her?”

“No. We weren’t even sure it was about a particular person, just the Jedi in general and Jedi training in the Force. But there was nothing solid in that message. No plans.”

“And neither of you thought to tell me?” he bites out, the anger clear in his voice. _Kriff_. Rey was in danger, and he didn’t know. And his father, his friends too. They were even able to get close enough to Rey to hurt her, and if he hadn’t found her when he did . . . he can’t finish the thought. He finds that happening more and more these days, the danger to Rey now a very real and present threat.

“I should have. I know,” and Finn swipes at his nose, and Poe can see the tears building up in his eyes. It’s the same in his. “I don’t think either of us thought it was an immediate worry. We didn’t think the target on her back was necessarily any bigger than before, and Rey said she’d keep an eye out. ‘Like always,’ she had said, and she did that little laugh of hers.” Finn scrubs at his face. “We’ve all been in danger for so long, it’s so easy to underestimate the risks.”

And things had been so tense between him and Rey then. He’d been so closed off from her, in a desperate attempt to protect his own heart. Had she refrained from telling him about it because of that?

He knows that Rey has always been fiercely independent, thinking she can do it all, all on her own. That’s partly her nature. It’s also partly a reflection of her solitary upbringing.

She doesn’t often tell people what’s going on. She just keeps it all in.

But things had been changing . . . at least before.

He rubs his fingers against his brow, trying to sooth the tension he feels building within, and finally brings himself to ask, “What was that call about?”

“Which call?”

“The night she was attacked. You called her and then . . .” He can’t finish the sentence.

“We had uncovered a new message, just moments before I called her. We’ve been tracking the group as best we can, but we’re never able to get more than bits and pieces.”

“What was it?”

“It was just a fragment really that we had intercepted and decrypted parts of. It had referenced ‘the list’ and looking for ‘the scavenger.’ But it also referenced Yavin IV, and . . .”

“And what?”

Finn grimaced.

“Finn, what else did it say?”

“It referenced you, and the military academy here. They were talking about sending someone here to see if the Jedi might have followed.”

_Oh, gods._

“They might have found her . . . because of me?”

***

Barely an hour later, after Rey’s descended the stairs, bleary eyed and stifling a yawn, they sit down to dinner. Both Finn and Kes are in the village and it’s just her and him with a table of too-much food he cooked.

Her comm alerts her to an incoming call just moments after they sit down to eat.

She answers. It’s Finn, who’s down at the civil defense headquarters.

Then she asks to speak to Finn alone.

He’s been by her side for days, except when the nurse would come or when she’s been sleeping, and he thought . . .

Well, he _hoped_ there wouldn’t be so many secrets between them anymore, especially now that he so desperately needs to talk to her about what he’s learned from Finn, and the swirl of thoughts in his mind — why didn’t she tell him about what was going on? Had Finn told her about that last message? Does she know that Poe led them right to her?

He doesn’t trust his voice, so he just nods at her as he stands from his chair and leaves the house.

He doesn’t cry. But he _wants_ to.

He finds himself wandering, the movement only serving to slow down his thoughts instead of leaving him free from them completely, and he’s almost shocked to find himself standing before the Force Tree . . . and a familiar face.

“Karé?” he gasps out, startled.

Her face immediately falls with concern, and she pulls him down to sit with her.

But it’s him who talks first.

“Why are you out here?” he asks her.

“Thinking about Snap. Like always,” she says, softly. Then she nudges her shoulder with his. “Like you with Rey. You know I had a talk with her the other day?”

“No, I didn’t. About what?” he asks, feeling almost . . . desperate, for more of Rey, however he can get it.

Karé’s smile is enigmatic. “That’s between me and her.” She’s quiet for a long moment, then she asks, “Are you ever going to tell her how you feel?”

Why is she bringing this up now? There’s a part of him that wonders if her conversation with Rey had been about . . . he shakes his head, unable to speak. Karé just squints her eyes against the sunshine as she stares up through the leaves.

“You love her. You should tell her.”

Poe shakes his head. “I can’t. I just can’t.”

“And why not?”

He huffs out an irritated breath. “It’s dangerous,” he says, unable to stop thinking about his conversation with Finn. “And cause it could go so wrong. Cause I’m so much older than her. Because she could do so much better than me. Kriff, she’s a Jedi, she could do _so much_ better.”

The silence stretches out between the two of them, and he can feel Karé’s eyes boring into the side of his head, and he can’t bear to look at her, even when the moment turns uncomfortable and then —

“You are the biggest karkin’ idiot I’ve ever met in my life.”

He whips his head around to look at her, his mouth agape.

“Oh no, don’t give me that look, you heard what I said. And you deserve it too. You know why?”

“Why’s that?”

“Because in all that crap you just gave me about why you shouldn’t tell Rey that you love her, not one of those reasons was because you don’t love her. Kriff, Poe. All those things you just said were just excuses. I know you know better. She’s had a tough life, much tougher than anything either of us can comprehend. She knows her own heart, and she deserves the opportunity to make her own choices about it. And that crap about things going wrong? About it being dangerous? Listen, I get that there’s something deeper going on after the attack, but you know what? That’s never going to change. We’re in a galaxy recovering from war, and you two are some of the biggest figures in the government and . . . and whatever the Jedi are. I highly doubt either of you will ever _not_ be in danger in some fashion.”

But then Karé reaches out to rest her hand on his shoulder. “But you know what else I know? I know that you know, absolutely and completely, that love is very much worth it. You know that it’s worth everything. I’ve heard your stories. I know you’re still wearing that ring around your neck. You know that when love presents itself to you, that you grab onto it with both hands and you hold on.”

Karé leans back against the tree, an odd but lovely look on her face as she stares up at the sky as if she could see something there that no one else could. She smiles softly. “So tell me Poe. What do you plan to do about it?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Spoilers for those wondering when the slow burn might be coming to an end . . . 
> 
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> I've got a feeling you'll be happy with the next chapter ;)


	12. Chapter 12

Poe sits a little longer under the Force tree after Karé goes to her house. He imagines what it would be like to tell Rey he loves her, what exactly he would say, what _she_ would say. He grows eager thinking of the possibilities, at just how amazing it could be.

He blinks, startling himself out of his reverie.

He _can_ tell her. There’s nothing to stop him. So why is he still sitting here?

He laughs, feeling positively giddy, and then he’s sprinting down the path towards the house, the incredible urge to finally tell her everything almost overwhelming him.

He’s brought to a halt though as he arrives in the clearing and sees Rey in the distance making her way down the stairs of the front porch.

She’s practically glowing in the soft moonlight and then her eyes meet his and all breath leaves his body.

He can see nothing but her.

He drifts towards her, as if he’s caught in her gravitational pull, and everything in the background fades away as she walks closer, a hesitant smile pulling at her lips as they stop in front of each other.

He wants to catch her up in his arms, to reach out and cradle her face in his hands and feel her hair under his fingertips.

He wants to feel her lips under his. He’s been wondering what they taste like.

He needs her so badly, in every way that she’s willing to give him. He wants to give her everything too.

And with the way she gazes back at him, causing his heart to stutter in his chest, he’s caught up in the hope that she feels the same.

But first, “Rey,” he implores. “We need to talk.” He needs to hear her voice and figure out what she’s thinking.

“You almost kissed me,” she says, her voice soft, hopeful. “The other night, before . . .” she trails off, wincing, as if she hadn’t intended to draw his mind back to that moment.

It doesn’t matter. He hasn’t stopped thinking about that moment when he had left her alone to take that call.

Rey draws a breath in and shakes her head. “I should have told you about my conversation with Finn, when he was here. I should have told you about it all.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I thought I could handle it myself. When Finn was here and he told me that the First Order knew the list was probably something Force related, that maybe it was related to the Jedi, I told myself that it was nothing. It was so non-specific, it could have been anything. But I knew better. I knew that, if it wasn’t then, sooner or later they would be after me.”

“Rey, it was dangerous. You could have really been hurt or—” _or you could have been killed or a dozen, a hundred, other horrible, frightening scenarios_ — “Dad or Karé or Iolo, or any number of people,” he bites out.

“I know, Poe,” she says, her voice full of remorse.

“You should have told me.” His voice is more pleading than angry now.

“I know. I should have.”

“You can’t do something like that again.”

“I won’t,” she says, and it sounds like a promise.

“You don’t have to do this alone. You don’t have to do any of this alone, you know that, right? We’re all here for you.” And this is his promise to her. He reaches out to take her hand in his, desperate to make her understand. “I’m here for you. Always.”

But that’s not all he needs to say. “Rey, there’s something I have to tell you . . .” he trails off, running a hand along his jaw as he summons his courage. Rey just gazes at him, her eyes full and clear and beautiful. It’s as if he can see into her very soul, but now, now he has to tell her . . .

“The message Finn got before you were attacked. They were able to find you because they knew where to find me and—”

“Poe,” she interrupts. “Finn told me. And it’s not your fault.”

“But I—”

“No. You don’t get to take responsibility for them finding me. They would have been able to find me somehow, someday. The error was just thinking it would be later. I was going to be starting a school here. They would have found me anyway. And none of the blame is yours.”

She moves a step closer, so close their feet are bumping up against each other. “You know, I thought about leaving, so all of you would be safe.”

“No, you can’t leave.” The thought of her leaving, it’s almost unbearable. “Rey, you can’t leave. We’re here for you. We’re all here for you, through good and bad. You’re not alone anymore. We have each other’s backs, and we’re all at risk, and do you know how much it would hurt me if something were to happen to you and I’m not around to have your back?”

“I said I thought about leaving. But I couldn’t. I just couldn’t.”

“Why not?”

She smiles, soft and sure. “Because now that I’ve found it, I couldn’t leave my home. I couldn’t leave you. Don’t you see? This is my home. You’re my home. I belong here. This is where I’m meant to be.”

In the space of a few seconds he’s learned that she thought about leaving him, and then that she wouldn’t, and then that she thought of him as her home, and—

“Rey, I love you.”

He says it again when she reaches out, her hands cupping his face, thumbs sliding along his cheekbones. He says it again as she smiles, full of awe and wonder, and he says it again when she steps even closer, till there’s no space between them, the warmth of their bodies meeting and mingling till it feels like they’re one, and then he says it again, and then—

“I love you, Poe,” she says, and then she’s kissing him, and it’s _perfect_.

Their first kiss is short and sweet, and so overwhelmingly lovely that he wants to stay there forever, but she pulls back, a sweet little sigh escaping her lips as she does.

Then she’s giggling, and he is too, and he leans his forehead against hers, because he can. He’s delighting that he can be this close to her, that she’s letting him be this close to her, and his head is spinning with how happy he is.

Their laughter fades away after a few moments and they stand there, just gazing at each other and breathing in the same air.

“Rey,” he says, softly, because he likes the way it sounds on his tongue.

She smiles at him, and says, “I love you,” again, as if she likes the way it sounds on _her_ tongue.

He cups her jaw in his hand, a thumb stroking along her bottom lip. “Can I kiss you again?”

“Please,” she breathes, and he thinks he sees the same hunger in her eyes that he feels, and his hand slides around to the back of her head, her soft hair under his fingers and then he’s kissing her deeply, passionately, the way he always hoped to kiss her, trying to convey everything he feels for her.

He feels one of her arms go around his waist and the other to his shoulder, tugging him closer, and he can’t help but pull her closer too, his tongue slipping against her bottom lip as she sighs softly against his mouth.

Then the hand that had been at his shoulder dips into his hair and he’s the one sighing into her mouth.

The kiss doesn’t end until several long, delightful moments pass, and even when they finally part for air, they remain close, both unable to move away after waiting for the other for so long.

He’s not sure if he’ll ever be able to part from her.

“There’s still a lot we have to talk about,” he says, softly.

“There’s still a lot we have to figure out,” she says, her hand stroking along his jaw.

Then she leans in and kisses him again, both mutually agreeing that it can wait till later.

There are more important things to handle now.

***

It’s much, much later when they finally separate—but not nearly long enough, Rey thinks—and she’s practically vibrating with exhilaration even as Poe holds out his elbow for her as he escorts her inside. The lights are out, except for a solitary lamp by the stairs, and the rest of the house is asleep.

As they stop in front of her doorway, he leans down, brushing a kiss across her knuckles. “Goodnight, Rey,” he says, and she has to stifle a lovestruck giggle.

She doesn’t want the night to end, not when she feels like this. A thought teases at her, wondering what it would be like to fall asleep in his arms and wake up there, what his face would look like in the soft light, how disheveled his curls would be, if he would kiss her, slow and sweet in the morning, every morning—

Instead, she whispers “Goodnight” back to him and steps into her room, her eyes remaining on him till she eases the door shut softly.

Then she leans back against it and touches her hands to her lips where she _swears_ she can still feel the touch of Poe’s lips against hers.

She bounds over to her bed so she can throw herself onto it and stifle the giggles that can’t help but break free.

She falls asleep to the memory of Poe’s voice whispering “I love you.”

***

When she comes downstairs the next morning for breakfast, Poe catches an arm around her waist, pulling her to him as he kisses her thoroughly. When he pulls away—much too soon, she thinks—he rests his forehead against hers.

“I missed you,” he says.

She giggles, rolling her eyes, even as she presses another quick kiss to his lips. “You just saw me a few hours ago.”

“Far too long apart.” He pecks her lips again.

They exchange several quick kisses, her giddy laughter bubbling just beneath the surface, the quick exchange of breath between the two almost as invigorating as the kisses they share.

Her stomach chooses that moment to grumble loudly. She flushes embarrassed, but Poe just leans in and kisses her cheek.

“Let’s get you fed.”

***

Rey tries to maintain some semblance of her routine: mornings with Kes working on ideas for the school, afternoons often spent alone or in the presence of D-O and BB-8 in her work area, drawing up plans and materials for her school, and training or meditating.

Nowadays though, she often finds herself pleasantly distracted by Poe—thinking of Poe, the memory of his soft hair brushing between her fingers, the way his shoulders or the muscles of his back feel under her questing hands, the way his arms hold her tightly to him, the way he whispers _I love you_ or _you’re beautiful_ or any number of other sweet words she knows he believes with every fiber of his being, with the way his soul shines so brightly with warmth and truth and light when he says them.

She especially likes thinking of those plush lips and the way they feel against hers.

During the weekdays they’re mostly separated with him at the academy during the day, but at night . . .

At night he comes to her work area after they’ve eaten. And instead of passing the time peacefully in conversation or work, they’ve recently developed another routine.

They’ll start working together side by side, but then she’ll inevitably reach over to stroke her hand along his, or he’ll tuck some hair behind her ear, and then all of a sudden they’re pressed together, kissing like they’ve been starving for it.

More than once she’s ended up in his lap, his hands curled around her hips or pressed into the curve of her back.

Several times she’s ended up pulling him down onto the cushioned space with her, tugging on his shoulders until he’s stretched out beside her, kissing until someone—Poe—inevitably pulls away.

He’ll adjust his hair and give her a sheepish smile and they’ll return to their work until the next time one of them gets a little too eager.

But it never goes any further.

And Rey wants more.

***

Poe’s sure his dad knows.

Finn would surely know, if he hadn’t left so soon after he and Rey finally kissed, in order to return to Jannah and the rest of his team now that the threat against Rey and the other Force sensitive children became so much more urgent. Iolo and Karé might not know, though he certainly wouldn’t bet any money on it. But the days at the academy have been running them ragged, and while his friends would come over for dinner and movies or cards, more often than not recently, they’ll head back to their houses before too long.

Kes, on the other hand, has the benefit of being around them much more often.

Poe figures he’ll let Rey take the lead on when to tell the others. Though with the way Rey steals food off his plate much more frequently these days, well, Poe’s pretty sure that’s a huge sign of affection for her. No one would try to steal food from her plate, and she’s never been one to steal it from others without asking for explicit permission or trying to hand over something else in exchange.

And while she doesn’t seem one for public displays of affection, unless it was with Finn or Rose, these days her touches are much more frequent, and much more lingering.

It’s driving him crazy. Each time she does it, he wants to pull her to him, to give her everything she seems to be asking of him.

But he also doesn’t want to push her. He’s older than her, so much more experienced, and despite Karé’s words of reassurance, and Rey’s seeming confidence, it just wears on him in ways he’s not really sure how to deal with.

Kes yawns across the table from them. “Alright, kids, I’m turning in. You’re running me ragged, Rey,” he says, grinning over at Rey, whose cheeks are stuffed with sweetbread.

“Oh c’mon,” she grumbles, flashing more than a little chewed up food. It should be disgusting, but Poe finds it more than a little adorable. Rey continues, “As if you’re not the one I have to keep up with in the koyo fields.”

“Hey, an old man’s still gotta have some things he’s good at. Don’t think I don’t know that you wouldn’t be doing twice as much as me if I gave you half the chance.”

Rey practically looks affronted. “I would never! You’re in great shape, it’s all you!”

Kes laughs, deep in his belly. “Alright, alright, save those sweet words for my son. But this old man does need his sleep. Good night you two.”

Kes waves as he strides off, and Poe’s just thankful his father doesn’t look back, because he’s sure his face is flaming red. Rey doesn’t notice either, content on stuffing another piece of sweetbread in her mouth and saying, “I swear that man is part fish. A hundred percent humidity out there and I can barely breathe and he’s running up and down the rows as if it’s nothing.”

She grins over at him then, and then her brow wrinkles. “Are you okay, Poe?”

He huffs a laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, I think I’m fine.”

Rey just hums, confused, but letting it go. Then her datapad chirps and she reaches over and reads through the incoming message.

Her face falls as she continues to read.

His heart clenches in fear.

“There’s more information.”

She doesn’t even have to say anything else and he knows it’s about her mission to Dantooine with Finn and Jannah, and the attack that occurred just across the yard from where they sit now.

But now they stand, and they silently clean up the remnants of their meal before she takes his hand and leads him upstairs, away from any potentially prying ears, human or mechanical.

She halts briefly at the landing looking between her room and his.

“Can we go to your room?”

“Sure, sweetheart,” he says, and opens his door for her. He thought she might be more comfortable in hers, but he’s not going to question her decision.

Rey hands him the datapad and he sits down on his bed and starts reading through the message and files Finn’s sent over. Rey remains standing, pacing back and forth as the words come tumbling out, a combination of information summarized from the message and apparently what had been weeks of brainstorming and agonizing about what the First Order had been up to.

By the end, she’s finally come over to sit down next to him, barely an inch of space separating the two. But Poe can practically feel the energy, the anger, the adrenaline vibrating through her and he’s unsure if putting his arm around her shoulder or pulling her into a hug would do more harm than good, whether she would accept the touch, the comfort, or whether she’d snap like a wounded animal.

He’d understand either reaction. He knows the feeling all too well.

Instead, he cautiously reaches out a hand, laying it gently atop hers where it’s resting against her knee.

And it’s like a string has been cut.

She collapses into his side, tears falling from her eyes as she lets out quiet sobs, seemingly more angry at the injustice of it all against the children who are potentially being targeted, who have no other option, than any pain on her own behalf. She curls her legs up under her, pressing into his side, burying her head against his shoulder. His arms come around her, one keeping her securely tucked against him, while the other strokes up and down her arm, as he murmurs soft words to her.

“It’s going to be alright,” he assures her. “ _They’ll_ be alright. We know where they are, we’re going to figure out a plan. They’ll be protected.”

And then, “You’ve done so well, sweetheart. You’ll be safe here now. I’ll take care of you, I promise. I’m here. I’ll always be here.”

Those words finally seem to lessen Rey’s tears, even as she sniffles against his shoulder.

“Can I stay with you tonight?”

He can’t help but say yes. He wouldn’t even try to say otherwise.

He hears something thump softly against the floor. He looks over and sees her toeing off her shoes. He kicks off his own shoes before reaching over to hit the switch above the bed, casting the room into darkness.

Rey tucks herself close into his side and he strokes her hair until he hears her breathing even out. Only then does he let himself sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the slow burn comes to an end! They've *finally* confessed their feelings for each other. I hope it was worth the wait!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello there! Apologies for the delay in getting this chapter up, but work and, well, 2020 got in the way. I hope this chapter will be worth the wait.
> 
> Before we get on with it though, a little note on the rating and content. There's a sex scene at the end, but it's short and focused more on the emotions than anything graphic, so I'm leaving the rating as is for now. I had toyed with the idea of it being a little more explicit, but it's their first time together, and I really wanted to focus more on the emotions than anything else. However, there are two other scenes in later chapters that do get a little more explicit, so I will probably change the rating to M then. I'll let you know how to read around it in the event you want to skip it though.
> 
> With that said, if you want to skip the scene at the end of this chapter, you can read up to:
> 
> "She pulls him up, her mouth trailing along his jaw, eagerly trying to find those same sensitive spots on his body. Each time he moans, she smiles in triumph.
> 
> It’s a whirlwind of emotions."
> 
> And then pick up at the last three paragraphs, which starts with: "I love you,” he says, voice soft and tender in the darkness. She feels him press his lips to her temple.

Rey wakes up incredibly, deliciously warm, content in a way she’s never felt before.

She can sense the faint glow of daylight streaming in from the windows, but her eyes stay stubbornly closed. There’s the lingering exhaustion from the prior night, and the news it had brought concerning the group of First Order mercenaries. They are unceasing in their attempts to find out the truth behind the list of villages, hiring splicers to infiltrate New Republic intelligence to see if they had already found out the truth. Finn told them they’re keeping the knowledge close at hand and off their internal networks to prevent such a thing, but it’s no coincidence that they continue to attempt to gain more and more information about Rey, who was spotted in the Dantooine village, along with Finn and Jannah.

Then there was the news that the mercenaries had recently obtained a large amount of much needed credits, and acquired more ships, cargo and fighter alike. Most disturbing was the increasing rumors that one of the top officers of the First Order, a man who Finn identified as one of the officials in charge of the kidnapping and assimilation of young children into the First Order, had been spotted alive.

They hadn’t been able to confirm the rumors of his survival yet. Or even if there was any connection between him and the group they were searching for.

They didn’t have much of anything concrete to operate with yet, and Finn and Jannah’s team continued the hunt. She knows she needs to let Finn and Jannah do what they do best, while she focuses on her school, so she can begin to train the next generation of Jedi, so they can protect themselves, and their communities.

She knows Finn and Jannah will call her—or maybe the Force will—when they’re in need of her.

In the meantime, she’s going to enjoy this moment as long as she can, remaining tucked under Poe’s strong arm, his soft exhalations gently tousling the hair at the nape of her neck.

She feels something hard nestled against her hip when she wiggles deeper into Poe’s embrace, and although she stops moving immediately because he’s still asleep, she can’t really complain (even if her cheeks flush, at once shy and . . . something else.)

She’s just on the cusp of dozing back off when she feels Poe stir behind her and his lips press softly against her neck.

“Good morning,” he whispers, and she’s not entirely sure if her shiver is from the kiss or the deep huskiness of his voice.

“Good morning,” she whispers back, as his smile ghosts across her skin where he keeps his lips pressed. “I didn’t wake you, did I?”

“Nah, sweetheart. You been awake long?”

“Just a few minutes.”

“Feeling better this morning?”

She nods. “Yeah.” But then, “It could be better though.”

There’s just enough teasing in her voice that Poe picks up on it, his own words taking on the same air. “Oh really? And just how can it be improved?”

She rolls over onto her back. “You could kiss me.”

“Work, work, work,” he says with an air of mock resignation. “Only if you promise not to be too harsh about my morning breath.”

“If you excuse mine too,” she says, brightly. Her morning suddenly seems much improved.

Morning breath is easy enough to ignore when she’s got a sleep-warm Poe pulling her close, pressing slow and dizzying kisses to her lips. His hand, at least the one that isn’t still cradled under her head, strokes up and down her side, and everything is so slow and soft and warm that she just wants to stay curled up in this feeling forever.

But when she tries to pull him even closer, he pulls away, pressing another kiss to her temple before smoothing a hand along her hair. “We probably should be getting up soon, sweetheart.”

“Why?” She knows she sounds vaguely petulant, but she doesn’t care. She’s fully content to stay here as long as possible. “You don’t have to go to the academy today, do you?”

“No, but there are a few reports that still need to be finalized, and I’m pretty sure I can smell breakfast ready downstairs. We’re already late as it is.”

As if on cue, her stomach grumbles. She grumbles along with it. Poe gets out of bed first, mumbling something about changing into clean clothes, and while she turns her back to give him some privacy, her new vantage point lets her spot _it._

There, nestled amongst more holonovels than she’s ever seen in one place in her life, medals and honors from his time in the navy, knickknacks, and a few pictures of his family—including BB-8, of course—is a framed picture of a campaign poster that is clearly from one of Leia’s early senate races.

With more energy than she had just moments before, she bounds over to it, picking it up, and _oooh, it’s autographed too._

When Poe walks back towards her clad in fresh clothes, she holds it out to him and sees his face flush red.

“She came to the naval academy when I was in training,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed. “I couldn’t resist.”

She smiles at him, putting it back into place before reaching out a hand to pull him towards her and giving him a peck on the lips. “Well, I think it’s adorable.”

“Yeah?”

She can’t resist teasing him a little though, and she winds her arms around his neck, looking up at him with wide, hopeful eyes. “You know, Yolo once showed me this poster he made. I wonder if you’ve seen it? Maybe I can get you to autograph it for me.”

“Evil. You’re an evil, evil woman,” he says, his laughter belying his words even as his hands reach toward her waist, and suddenly she feels his fingers skitter along her side. She just barely manages to hold back a shriek, but instead grasps one of his hand in hers and pulls him toward the door.

“I may be an evil woman, but I’m a hungry woman too. You gonna feed me or not?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Poe laughs, and then she’s laughing as she tugs him out of his room and—

“I knew it!”

She startles, feels Poe at her back do the same, and suddenly they’re face to face with a gleeful Kes Dameron, one finger pointing at them as he crows with glee.

She hears Poe mumble something about déjà vu at her back, but then Kes is clapping his hands together and laughing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you two. I just wanted to let you know that breakfast is ready.”

“Thanks, dad,” Poe grumbles behind her, but Kes’s smile only broadens.

“Now, don’t let me rush you two. Take all the time you need. Breakfast will be waiting.”

It almost sounds like he’s gloating, though Rey can’t imagine why. She just stares at his retreating back, confused, as he heads back down the stairs.

“Oh, that can’t be good,” Poe says, though he’s wearing an amused, if slightly pained, smile when she glances back at him.

***

She’s sitting on her favorite chair (and how amazing is that, she thinks to herself, she’s been in one place long enough that she has a favorite chair, it’s comfy and absolutely perfect, and the others know it’s her favorite too, and absolutely no one will fight her for it) when the speeder arrives back at the homestead.

Poe, Iolo, and Karé come tumbling out, a riot of laughter, and they come over to join her at the firepit where a small fire is currently flickering away as she reads one of her texts.

“You shoulda seen Karé today,” Iolo crows as he approaches the firepit like a ringleader promoting his fighter on the way into the ring. “She was amazing.”

Karé flexes her arms, pressing a kiss to each bicep, and Rey laughs, amused at the other woman’s theatrics.

“What happened?” she asks, smiling up at Poe as he walks around behind her to take the seat on the other side of her, stroking a fond hand across the back of her shoulders. She turns back to Karé, who is still playing up the theatrics, even as she presses her lips together, holding back a smile.

Iolo rushes over to help Kes, who is carrying a few plates out, tossing out over his shoulder, “She put some overconfident cadet into his place today.”

“During the group sparring session, one of the cadets decided to take on Karé. He was way too full of himself,” Poe continues.

“Didn’t think a woman could put him on his back.” Karé presses another kiss to her bicep, before flopping down into a chair with a wide, triumphant smile.

Kes and Iolo are passing around plates and drinks, Iolo handing her a plate as he chimes in “Karé had him crying within three moves, and _is that a hickey_?”

The group is suddenly silenced at Iolo’s exclamation, and Rey’s just staring up at him as he slaps a hand over his mouth. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

“Finally!” Karé crows, her arms thrusting upward as if in victory, while Kes just sits there smirking, his arms crossed over his chest.

Iolo for his part leans in again, whispers “Sorry,” once more before glancing over his shoulder. Once he sees that Poe is distracted staring in shock at Karé and his father, Iolo turns back to her and gives her a grin and two thumbs up.

“Did you know about it?” Karé asks Kes, smacking him on the shoulder when he just keeps smirking, and she shakes her head. “Can’t believe you didn’t tell me.”

Iolo grins at Poe. “Keeping secrets, now, huh, Poe?”

Rey sees Poe blush a little at the teasing, before he turns to her with a sweet, apologetic smile on his face. She doesn’t mind though. She thought she might, but she doesn’t, even when Karé leans forward, her voice a little too loud to be a whisper, and points at her neck. “I can teach you how to cover that up if you want.”

No, Rey really doesn’t mind. Honestly, it just makes this place feel even more like home.

***

Early one afternoon, she’s poring over a text at the kitchen table, a cup of blue milk at her elbow, when she hears the front door open, boots being stamped free of dirt, and senses Kes’s deep, steady presence. A moment later and he’s entering the kitchen with a smile brighter than any she’s ever seen on the man before.

“Thought I might find you in here,” he says cheerfully, as he sets a handful of bags down on the kitchen counter and starts unpacking them.

She had made lunch for herself not too long ago, so she’s a little surprised to see Kes pulling out so much food, and more than a few bottles of wine. She thought that they had been pretty well stocked before, but clearly Kes hadn’t thought so, as he’s a flurry of movement around the kitchen as he puts stuff away.

“Had a good day, I take it?” she asks, amused.

“Oh, I did, Jedi. I did.”

There’s something in his voice that she can’t quite put her finger on, but then he continues. “I think you did too.”

Her brow furrows. “Sure. I mean, it was just the same stuff as usual, but—”

Kes whirls around, dusting his hands off as the last item is put away, and his grin is so large that she stops herself in the middle of her sentence. “What is it, Kes?”

“It’s done.”

“What is?”

“The governor signed the papers today. You’ve got the land and the permits to proceed with the school.”

Her jaw drops. She knows that the papers were being pushed around to get the approval they needed just to begin building, not to mention getting approval for the students and their families to come and live on Yavin IV, plus any number of procedures and processes that she didn’t really concern herself with because Kes had told her he would handle it, so honestly she just sort of spaced out about it to focus on the school itself, but . . .

She feels her heart speeding up with excitement. “It’s done?”

“It’s done. It’s full steam ahead.”

Their joy is palpable and a moment later she and Kes are hugging in the middle of the kitchen and they’re both laughing happily. She’s so giddy she feels like she could dance. He reaches out to the single box remaining on the counter and hands it to her and there’s a single koyo melon cupcake in there.

“I thought we could have a bigger celebration later with everyone,” he says, which explains the large amount of food and wine he brought back with him. “But I thought you should have this now.”

She bites into the cupcake. She thinks she’s never tasted anything quite so sweet.

After a bit, Kes excuses himself, and she decides to take a walk through the jungle.

The happiness and the contentment that fills her now seems to be reflected in the jungle itself. The sky is clear and bright, the breeze soft through the overgrown bushes and trees, even the hoots of the animals seem to burble with something joyous.

The jungle feels alive, so very alive today. Or maybe it’s just her.

Either way, she wishes that Poe was there to share it with her. To share the news, to share her joy, to share the way everything feels so good and true and alive that it feels like her blood is humming with it.

For all the pain and uncertainty the past has wrought, for all the uncertainty that remains with the First Order and its continuing attempts to find out the truth behind the list and to gain a new foothold, things on Yavin finally seem to be going very, very well, and she wants to share it all with him.

Her mind flashes to the sound of his voice when he says her name, sweet and full, the warmth of his eyes, the way his lips look, full and red, when they stretch into a smile or he bites into that plush lower lip, the strength in his arms, in his hands . . .

She’s alive with it all at the moment. And she wants to share it all with him.

***

When Poe comes to visit her at her work area later that night after he helps his dad finish cleaning up from their dinner, she doesn’t even pretend to keep studying the ancient texts.

Instead, she shoves them to the side, and pulls him down with her on the soft padded bench she had put together when she first started working in here, and drags him into a long, searing kiss.

“That’s quite a welcome, sweetheart,” he manages to gasp out, somewhere between her nipping at his bottom lip and pressing a kiss to that sensitive area just at the corner of his jaw, where the stubble rasps at her lips and he smells delicious, musky and warm and clean, like leather and aftershave and just a hint of the electronics and jet fuel that always seems to linger in his presence.

She can’t help it. She’s hungry, and she _wants_ in ways she never could on Jakku. In the last few weeks, she had made sure her implant was up to date, giggled and gossiped with Rose over holocalls, even haltingly asked Karé for some advice on “wooing Poe.”

The other woman had just laughed. “Believe me, you’re doing just fine all on your own.”

But now that she’s off Jakku, and here on Yavin IV, all her yearning is driving her crazy, and she is _done_ with waiting.

She bites gently at his ear lobe, his low, drawn out groan echoing in her ear.

“Quite a welcome,” he gasps out.

She grins, pleased. “I had a really good day.”

“Yeah?” he grins, as if he didn’t already know the news they shared with him over dinner. His own eyes had grown bright and happy, that smile almost painfully wide as he rushed around the table to pull her into a hug, swinging her around until her feet left the floor and her laughter filled the air.

She hums. “Yeah. And now that you’re here, it’s even better.”

She drags him back down to her, their lips meeting once more, her hands coasting up and down his back, unable to keep still. She feels something long and hard pressing into her hip, and it’s as natural as breathing to roll her hips up. She feels him shiver under the palms of her hands where they’re holding on to his back.

“Sweetheart,” he groans out, and she thinks she’ll never grow tired of hearing him say that word to her, particularly with that rough and heady edge to his voice.

“Poe,” she responds, her own voice far breathier than she expected.

He presses his forehead into the crook of her neck, and all he says is her name, low and almost pained.

She stops the slow roll of her hips, loosens her grip on his shoulder blades. She has a few ideas why he’s always stopping them from going any further each time she thinks they’re moving forward. But she has to tell him, has to ask. “I want to. Don’t you want me?”

For a long moment, he’s silent, and something sharp stabs into her gut, immediately followed by a strange forlornness. But then he’s lifting his head up, his eyes boring into hers, as if searching for something.

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure. I’m always sure about you,” she says, trying to fill her voice with every ounce of what she feels for him. She _is_ sure about him. She wants this with him, if only he’ll have her. “But what about you?”

“I’m always sure about you too,” he says, an echo of her earlier sentiments, a soft smile tugging at his lips. “I didn’t want to push you.”

“You’re not. I know my own mind,” she says, adamantly. And then softer, “I love you. And I want you.”

His eyes search hers for a long moment. Then he finally says “Not here.”

“Why not here?”

“I love you too. And I want you very much, but you deserve more than . . . than . . . this is a shed, Rey. Believe me, this is a very nice place you’ve set up here, but our first time . . .” He leans in and presses a kiss to the corner of her mouth. “It should be somewhere nice.” And he kisses her again, this time at the corner of her jaw. “Someplace comfortable.” He moves a little lower, and she arches her neck as he presses a biting kiss to the column of her throat. “Somewhere I can take my time with you.”

She gasps, a sharp heat shooting through her belly at his words, and she can feel his smile against her skin.

“You know anyplace like that?” she manages to gasp out, falling far short of the teasing she intended. But his warmth, his scent, his body against hers has her brain all muddled, and while she knows she _wants_ him, as badly as ever, her brain is a little too fuzzy to think through the logistics of it.

He laughs, gently, against her throat, and presses another kiss to her lips. “I think so. If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure. I love you.”

The teasing grin leaves his face in the blink of an eye, only to be replaced with something soft and adoring even in its intensity.

He takes her hand and helps her up, planting one more heated kiss on her lips before leading them back to the house. They tiptoe through the dark and up the stairs to the other side of the house where their rooms are located.

They stop at the landing and he smiles at her. “Ladies choice.”

She glances down at their hands where they’re still enjoined, smoothing her thumb over his knuckles before giving it a gentle squeeze. She pulls them into his room, a place that is imbued with everything good and light and Poe.

She winds her hand around the back of his neck before pulling him down into a kiss. It’s soft and sweet.

“I love you,” he says, pulling back to study her face, a knuckle coming up to stroke along her jaw.

She feels good. She feels safe. And with the way he’s looking at her now, she feels wanted, desired, _loved_ , in a way she only ever could dream of.

“I love you,” she repeats back easily. It’s so easy to tell him that, like it’s one of the constant truths of the universe. But she sees the question on his face, the lingering uncertainty. Her lips tip up in a smile. “And I want you. So, so much.”

“Kriff,” he practically moans, the sound of it hungry and wanting. He dives back in, and the kiss is deep and passionate, and she thrills with it.

He takes his time with her, his hands skimming down her body, lips moving from her mouth to her jaw down the column of her neck. She feels him grin against her skin as he finds the spot under her ear that has her gasping and her fingers tightening in his hair.

She pulls him up, her mouth trailing along his jaw, eagerly trying to find those same sensitive spots on his body. Each time he moans, she smiles in triumph.

It’s a whirlwind of emotions. Her heart clenches with love and affection as he so carefully unwinds the fabric that covers her torso, lifts the shirt off her body, looking at her like she’s beautiful, precious, like she’s something to be treasured. It’s so easy to laugh with him too as their pants get caught on their shoes, both clumsier than usual in their passion. She feels safe and secure as he lies her down in his bed, his strong body curving over hers. She feels powerful when his hands explore her body and hers explore his, their need echoed in each other’s eyes. She feels adored as he kisses his way down her body, thrills with the way he makes her feel when he kisses her between her legs and explores her with his fingers, feels free and alive and so, so good as he takes her over the edge again and again.

And when his mouth finally comes up to meet hers once more and she guides him between her legs, she feels alive, incandescent, absolutely electric with it. With _him_.

When it’s over, with the memory of his voice gasping her name echoing so deliciously in her ears, they remain pressed close, their arms and legs tangled together, as their bodies cool.

“I love you,” he says, voice soft and tender in the darkness. She feels him press his lips to her temple.

She takes the hand that rests at the curve of her waist and pulls it to her lips, and kisses his palm. “I love you too,” she whispers, her lips against his skin.

The moonlight streams in through the curtains, casting them both in its glow. In that moment, all she knows is love and warmth and Poe, and she slips off to sleep, feeling more at peace than she’s ever felt before.


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright, I'm officially bumping that rating up to M, as Poe and Rey get a little frisky again at the end of this chapter. 
> 
> If you want to skip that scene, look for the second half of the chapter where Poe says, "I thought you were hungry" and Rey responds with "I am." (Believe me, it's not just food that Rey's hungry for in that moment.)
> 
> You can pick back up with "As he pants into her skin, the adrenaline of their stolen moment finally slowing down . . ."
> 
> With that said, I hope you enjoy the chapter!

It’s been less than a month since Kes had told her that they had received all the approval they needed to begin building the school. But Kaydel . . . Kaydel was a miracle worker, Rey thinks, as she sits next to Poe on the hood of his speeder in the early evening light and watches the worker’s pack up for the day.

In the space of just a few weeks, Kaydel had gotten things going on her end, coordinated with the Yavinese officials, and right now, the framework of the main building of her school was standing proud, practically glowing in the golden light.

Her cheeks ache with how much she’s been smiling.

“Pretty cool, huh?” Poe grins, bumping her shoulder with his.

“I can’t believe this is really happening,” she breathes. A school of her very own to teach young Force sensitives had barely been a dream of hers a few short months ago, and now . . .

Now there was still quite a bit of work to be done, but there was something tangible, something real, that she could touch.

She had grown up with very little to call her own. Her home was nothing but an Empire cast-off, a piece of wreckage from an old war.

But this was new, and it was hers, and it would be something _good_.

“Believe it. You’re gonna have younglings of your own running around here soon enough,” Poe says, as he kisses her temple.

She knows what he means. But now that she’s contemplating the future, a future that suddenly seems so very real instead of merely a dream . . . she sees a different sort of youngling than just a future student.

Not now. Certainly not now. There’s so much she needs to do first.

But one day.

One day she just might like a youngling or two of her very own.

She leans over to press a kiss to Poe’s shoulder, before the faint whirr of a starship overhead causes her to look up, and her mind automatically goes to Finn and Jannah and the rest of the team. “You ever think we should be out there instead of here?”

Poe tracks the ship as well as it heads out of sight before meeting Rey’s eyes. “You mean still fighting?”

She nods. She can’t help but think about it occasionally, especially every time they get an update from Kaydel or Finn or Rose. “Sometimes I wonder if it’s right that I should be sitting here safe on Yavin and thinking about starting a school, when there are still people out there who would want to harm those very people I want to teach. When there are still people who want to bring the galaxy under their heel, and even if they don’t have a lot of power right now, they’re trying to regain their strength, and well . . . what am I doing here?”

“I think about it too,” Poe says, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she curls into his side. “Leia made me General, but then I left that behind. The battle against Palpatine was over, the Final Order was stopped, and then it was just taking care of the stragglers, but . . . but she had trusted me enough to do that, and now I’m here. Sometimes I wonder if it’s the right path. Should I still be out there? Should I have accepted the offer to serve in the government instead? Was there something else that I should have done?”

“Yolo could have made you some nice campaign posters. I’m sure you would’ve gotten quite a few votes if the response to his first poster was any indication.”

Poe snorts out a laugh, but sobers quickly. “Maybe she would have liked to see me in government, but I don’t think that’s my path right now. Certainly not yet. Maybe not ever. But I think for now I’m where I’m meant to be.” There’s a long pause, a measure of silence, and then Poe sighs, his voice suddenly unsure, yet hopeful. “I just hope she’s proud of me anyway.”

If there is one thing Rey is absolutely sure of, it’s this. “I know she is,” she tells him, calmly, confidently. “She’s so very proud of you.” A brief wisp of wind flows through the clearing, and it feels like the Force wraps around them. Poe may not be Force sensitive like she is, but she hopes he can feel it too. It’s peaceful and content, like Leia’s love and pride made manifest.

Poe kisses the top of her head. “Thank you,” he whispers, and she can hear the deep well of emotion in his voice. He clears his throat, and asks, “But what about you? Are you having second thoughts?”

“No, not really. It’s just . . .” she trails off, uncertain how to put the feeling into words.

“With the threat out there, against you and the children, you’re thinking what are you doing here. Is this the right course?”

“Yes,” she says, lifting her head from his shoulder but not leaving his arms. She searches Poe’s eyes. “Maybe I should be out there with Finn and Jannah and the rest of them.”

“Honestly, after you got hurt, it took everything I had not to go with them.”

“Why didn’t you?”

“I needed to be here. For you. For dad. For the academy. I can serve best that way, I think. And it’s not to say we’re stuck here forever. If Finn and the rest of them need me, I’ll go. And if you need me, I’ll go wherever you go.”

The last statement feels like something more than just a promise. It feels like truth. It feels like a vow.

She leans in to press her lips to his and kisses him, slow and sweet, relishing in the feeling of his soft, strong hands coming up to cradle her face. After a long moment, she breaks away, and sighs happily. “Well, luckily it seems I’ll be hanging out around here for a while. I don’t know if you heard, but they’re building me a school.”

Poe strokes a finger along her jaw as he smiles at her. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

“Yeah,” Poe echoes, as they lean back on the hood of the speeder together, and watch the sun set behind the frame of the new school, the area behind it being cleared for training grounds, and beyond . . .

Beyond she can already imagine the houses built for the students and their families, homes filled with joy and life, all of them growing and working and learning together, the first step on a larger path for peace.

***

Poe finds himself strangely nervous.

Not because he’s gotten word that an evaluator from the military will come by and visit the school at some point, along with the other new academies throughout the galaxy.

No, today he’s nervous because his afternoon session will be combined with Karé’s. All of their students will be getting together in the training room to welcome a special visitor and watch her in action.

His father is driving with Rey to the school right now, and based on the time the two had left the house, they should be here any minute.

He releases a shuddering breath.

Poe’s always been—maybe not a showoff exactly—but someone who wants to impress others. Someone who wants to do right by them. He’s always felt the sense that he needs to uphold his parents’ legacies, particularly his mother’s. She was his hero and he had decided long ago that he wanted to follow in her footsteps.

And she had left behind some pretty sizeable footprints.

His mind returns to the vision Rey had shared with him of his parents in this very temple, fighting for freedom and justice alongside their friends, so many of them now long gone.

The image of Leia and Luke and Han, always in and out of his parents’ orbit, hits him suddenly in the gut, and the force of it is only softened when he spies a speeder pull up and Rey and his father get out.

Rey Skywalker.

It feels right to be in her orbit. And now that they’re together, he doesn’t ever want to be separated.

“So you weren’t kidding. You have a proper school here and everything,” Kes says teasingly, eyeing the cadets walking towards the building behind Poe and the ships waiting in the hangar nearby. The last time Kes had visited was in the days leading up to the opening.

“Maybe I just hired some actors for the day. All part of an elaborate spectacle,” Poe replies, deadpan.

Kes grins at him anyway and claps him on the shoulder. “Well, why don’t you show us around this spectacle anyway?”

“Sir, yes sir,” Poe replies, amused, and extends an arm to show them forward. While Kes is turned away, he gives Rey a soft, private smile, and quietly says, “Hey you.”

The smile she gives him is equally as soft. “Hey you.”

They had both agreed that they wouldn’t disclose their relationship to the academy students. It may now be a foregone fact between their friends and his father (and even their friends further away, such as Rose, who had crowed _“Finally”_ loud enough in her call with Rey that Poe had heard it all the way across the house) that Poe loved Rey and Rey loved Poe and they were together.

But while their relationship would likely come out if they stayed together long enough (and even if it was too soon to admit it, he couldn’t help but think that he wanted _forever_ , wanted it so badly he could taste it, that he doesn’t ever want to be separated from Rey as long as he could help it), for now that fact would stay between them. Besides, it’ll give them time to figure out just how to navigate the challenges that they’ll inevitably face by being two of the most prominent people in the galaxy and leaders in their respective fields.

So once those sweet, private smiles were exchanged between the two, their faces fell into a mask of professional courtesy. Best not to let even the chance of a rumor grow.

Of course, that was easier said than done.

He had worked on a few opening remarks to give to the students about their visitor that day. Everyone already knew about the Jedi, and a little of Rey herself. But he made a point to note her reputation as a phenomenal fighter and a woman of peace, not to mention being the strongest person he knows.

When he finishes his remarks and greets Rey up front with Karé beside him, though, he realizes his smile might be a little too soft for someone he shares a purely professional relationship with.

But he thinks the way BB-8’s loud beeps in exclamation over his “friend-and-hero Rey” make the rest of the cadets laugh at the droid’s antics while they applaud for Rey as she stands in the middle of the sparring match with Karé covers for him pretty well.

But he’s sure his heart-eyes were less well-concealed when the two women began their presentation which soon led into a hand-to-hand sparring demonstration. But the Dameron men were never known for their ability to cover just how in love they were with their partners. It seemed to be a genetic trait of sorts.

And with the way his jaw drops fully agape when she and Karé pull out staffs, he knows he’s not hiding his reactions well at all. But he knows for certain he’ll never get over just how _good_ she is at this, how skilled—she’s the best fighter he’s ever seen.

Then again, no one will notice his reaction anyway. All the eyes in the room are focused solely on Rey, because she’s the best fighter _any_ of them have ever seen.

Afterwards, Rey stands before the assembled crowd answering questions. She’s clearly still a little shy at all the attention on her, but he’s glad Karé’s up there with her to help support Rey with her quick wit and talent for keeping the cadets in line (and kriff is he glad they’re on their best behavior today, he can’t quite get past how much loves having Rey here, and he can’t help but want to see her here again, sooner rather than later.)

But Rey’s also entirely beautiful up there, the flush of exhilaration on her cheeks and perspiration along her hairline making her almost glow, the play of her arm muscles showcased by the sleeveless top.

It’s a struggle, but he’s hopeful that he’s managed to get himself under control enough that after he delivers some concluding remarks, and one last burst of applause, the students leave without any weird looks sent his way (though plenty of awe-inspired looks towards Rey.)

“Whew, you were not going easy out there today, were you, Jedi?” Karé teases, as she lopes over to grab her water bottle at the side of the room and tosses Rey hers.

“What? I thought you said to give them a show,” Rey teases back, before gulping down her water.

“That you two certainly did,” Kes says. “Pretty sure the cadets won’t talk about anything else for weeks.”

Karé grins wickedly. “It certainly helped me scare a few of them into shape.”

“After you took down that one tough talker a few weeks back, I don’t think you had anything to worry about,” Poe says, laughing.

“A little extra incentive doesn’t hurt,” Karé says, smirking. “On that note, I gotta shower and prep for my last class. Thanks for the workout, Jedi.” She winks at Rey, and Rey grins back at her as she waves and heads out.

Poe helps Rey collect her belongings as he tosses out over his shoulder, “Were you two hungry? We can grab some food in the mess if you want.”

“Actually, I was wondering if I might take a few minutes to look around by myself, if that’s alright with you.”

Poe doesn’t miss the sad, contemplative look on his father’s face, and feels a heavy weight of sorts on his chest. He knows the power this place has and the memories it holds for his father. The two of them have had it out enough times and Poe knows the sense of guilt Kes still carries. Peace hadn’t held the first time, and then the war had been brought back to his family. Now, with its shadows still lingering, Kes sees the temple, once the birthplace of a rebellion, now acting as a training ground for the future New Republic navy.

And, of course, Shara. Shara’s presence, like so many others, still lingers within these walls.

Poe can’t deny his father the chance to commune with her spirit in any way he can.

“Absolutely. Take as long as you want. You know your way around.”

When his father heads out of the room, he turns to face Rey, who has a little grin on her face. “You were talking about something to eat?”

Poe laughs, feeling so fond of her. “Yeah, we’ll get you something to eat.”

They begin heading down the hallway, and he feels the brush of her hand against his as they walk side by side, and it’s almost a tease. He wants to hold her hand, feel her fingers entangled with his, the callouses of her palm against his own, but even with the hallway empty, they can’t risk it.

But as he spies Rey’s smirk growing as they walk, he gets the feeling it’s intentional.

She stops suddenly, still several hallways away from the mess, and cocks her head to the side as if listening to something. Then she’s pulling him into a utility closet, the door shushing shut behind them, and a quick wave of her hand ensures the door is securely locked.

“I thought you were hungry,” he teases, as she pushes him into the wall, his mouth running ahead of him as it so often does, though he’s very, _very_ on board with this change of proceedings.

“I am,” she says, and then she’s leaning in to kiss him, and all coherent thoughts leave him entirely.

Her lips slide heatedly over his even as her hands dive into his hair, carding through them in a way that makes his knees week. He wants to feel her, wants to make her feel just as good as he does right now, and his hands begin skimming her sides up to her arms, only to stroke down them to feel the heated skin and sinewy muscles that he had been eagerly admiring during the sparring match.

Her mouth is fierce beneath his own and he feels the way her body moves into him, her hips pressing against his, until finally he has to pull away to gasp for breath.

He bites his lip as his eyes rove hungrily over her. “Did I tell you how amazing you were out there?”

“You didn’t have to. I could tell you were thinking it,” she says, her hips pointedly pressing into his own.

Her wicked smirk is absolutely delicious, and he quickly darts in to kiss it, before moving down to the corner of her jaw and her neck. “You should hear it too. You were amazing. Absolutely incredible.”

He bites gently down on her earlobe, and the resulting gasp sends a shiver of pleasure down his back.

“Kriff, I love you,” he pants against her jaw, absolutely intoxicated by her. She needs to hear it, needs to _know_ it, how much he adores her, how much he loves her, the way she can bring him to his knees just by being her, by being Rey.

“I love you, too,” she gasps out, her arms trying to pull him closer, as if there was any space left between the two of them anyway.

Then the roll of her hips and her lips at as his jaw has him groaning deep in his chest. “Kriff, I feel like a teenager again.”

“Sneaking into supply closets to make out during school hours? I wouldn’t have expected that from you. I always heard you were a bit of a teacher’s pet,” she teases, as her lips continue to work at his neck.

“Okay, it was—oh!—a bit rhetorical.” The nip was light enough that he doesn’t think there will be a mark at his throat later, but it sends a spark of electricity down his spine nonetheless.

He can feel her grin against his neck. “So you didn’t sneak into supply closets?”

“Didn’t exactly have much opportunity around here,” he says, letting out a little huff as Rey’s lips move to the sensitive spot beneath his ear.

“And no one at the academy?”

“I was usually having a bit too much fun with the flight sims to be making out with anyone in a supply closet.”

“You know,” Rey muses as she pulls away from his neck, a wicked grin pulling at her kiss-swollen lips. “I never exactly had much of a chance to make out in supply closets either.”

Poe lets his fingers smooth Rey’s hair, the flyaways tickling his fingers, and smiles at her lazily despite the ever-growing heat beneath his skin. “Did you have something in mind?”

That grin only grows wider, and then one hand is diving back into his hair to pull his face towards her, quickly turning the kiss dirty as her tongue seeks his. She works her other hand between them, palming over the front of his pants where his cock is already hard and throbbing, before working the button of his pants open.

It’s quick work to get his pants and her leggings off, and he strokes her cunt for several long moments, cataloguing her whimpers and sighs as he feels her hot and wet against his fingertips. But then he’s lifting her legs around his waist and pressing her into the wall, and he thinks it’s the sound of her sigh as he enters her which will be permanently engraved in his brain for eternity, as it’s the sweetest thing he’s ever heard.

The feel of her around him is pretty amazing too though, and he closes his eyes for a long moment to savor the sensation and give her time to adjust to this position.

But then her heels dig lightly into his ass, and her voice, soft and breathy, breaks through the quiet of the room. “Poe?”

“Hmm?”

“Move? Please?”

There’s an urgency in her voice, and despite his grin and his “Yes, ma’am,” he feels that same urgency and hunger burning in his veins.

She grabs onto the corner of a shelf for further leverage to help grind her hips into his as he thrusts into her, and it’s a struggle to keep quiet as the pleasure races through him. He’s determined to bring her over the edge before he falls, but it feels like he’s been turned on since watching her spar and with the way she’s scraping her nails against his back and tugging at his hair and writhing against him, she’s making it extremely difficult. He toys with her breast over her tunic and mouths, wet and messy, at her throat, all the while his hips work to hit that spot inside of her that makes her sing.

As he pants how much he cares for her, adores her, loves her into the soft skin of her collarbone, he feels the delightful clench around him that precedes her climax, and then he hears her soft groan of pleasure, the vibrations of which he can feel beneath his lips as he presses them to her throat, and then pleasure races up his spine and he’s falling over the edge too.

Her legs slowly unfurl from around his waist, and he helps ease her to the ground. But neither of them part from the other just yet, even though he knows sooner rather than later, they need to head back out.

As he pants into her skin, the adrenaline of their stolen moment finally slowing down in his veins, he thinks he’s never felt so light, so free, as he does with Rey in his arms, her voice in his ear as she whispers she loves him, and the same words finding their way out of his mouth to her.

It was a wonder seeing her spar with Karé in front of his students, and to see the way she commanded the room. But it has nothing on Rey herself, her heart and soul, her warmth and goodness.

He almost wants to laugh with giddiness. Right now, they’re hidden away in a supply closet deep in the temple while their heart rates come back down, and it almost boggles his mind. The base, the birthplace of the rebellion, the home of cadets training for the New Republic navy, has never felt so . . . right.

He’s never felt so peaceful. So content.

And he knows it all has to do with Rey.

“What you thinking about?” she asks, her nails scratching gently against his scalp as she cards her fingers through his hair.

“About how much I love you,” he says, smiling softly at her as he picks his head up from her shoulder to press a gentle kiss to her mouth.

She hums happily, a smile teasing her lips upward. “That’s nice,” she says, and he thinks he’ll never forget the way her eyes are looking at him right now. They’ve never looked so beautiful, all that love and affection mingled with that certain glint that she gets in her eyes when she teases him.

So he can’t help but ask, “What about you?”

Her stomach chooses that moment to grumble loudly. “Well, now I’m thinking about food,” she says, suppressing a smile.

His hands go to her waist, earning him a giggle from Rey as he tickles up her side. “Oh, my poor girlfriend. I’ve been neglecting my duty to keep you fed, haven’t I?”

She sighs mightily. “It’s quite sad.”

“Well, allow me to escort you to the mess, my lady,” he grins, playfully bowing towards her.

She grins back at him and curtsies, before walking around him towards the door. After a brief moment where she once again seems to be listening to something, she opens it.

Before he can step out though, she grabs his hand. “Oh, and Poe?”

He turns his gaze towards her and arches an eyebrow in question.

“I love you, too,” she says.

He darts in to press a kiss to her lips before their professional facades descend over them once more. However, it’s hard to repress their smiles, and a pleasant warmth accompanies them during their walk to the mess, as it seems neither of them can free themselves entirely of the memory of the last several minutes.

Who knew supply closets could be so much fun?


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: There's a sex scene at the end, but it's short and focused more on the emotions than anything graphic. If you want to skip it, stop at "She lets her hand come up to tangle in his hair, the strands soft as always beneath her fingers" and pick back up again with "Afterwards, with the sweat still cooling on their skin."
> 
> Otherwise, the action is starting to pick up again as we head into the last arc of this fic. I hope you enjoy it!

If there is one thing Rey absolutely hates about the jungles of Yavin IV, it’s the mosquitoes.

She never really got used to them on Ajan Kloss either. But here, in the midst of the rainy season and the air damper than ever, the mosquitoes seem bigger than ever, and determined to drive her crazy too.

She slaps at one pesky mosquito that seems intent on hovering around her face and grimaces before settling back into her fighting stance. Just because it’s insanely hot and humid, with mosquitoes determined to suck all the blood from her, doesn’t mean she can stop training.

The slow clap coming from behind her does stop her though.

She turns and rolls her eyes at Poe, who’s approaching from across the clearing. He’s dressed in dark pants and a light button up, his favorite sort of outfit for the days he’s in the classroom.

But now he’s got his sleeves rolled up past his forearms, and his hair is curling wildly from the intense humidity, and she can’t help but think he’s looking particularly good today.

Though he’s clearly intent on teasing her if his smirk and slow clap is any indication. So she refuses to let him know just how good he’s looking right now, and instead decides to settle into a slightly different stance, with her hand resting on her hip, hip cocked to the side, her eyebrow arched and shoulders relaxed.

Bantering with him is its own kind of sparring.

“I’m not aware of that particular move,” he says, making a flapping gesture in front of his face, as if he didn’t clearly know the sort of blood-sucking monsters Yavin held. “What do they call it?”

“Oh, bite me, Dameron.”

There’s a swagger in his steps as he approaches, and he gives her that smirk that is very attractive in its own right, and usually bodes well for her. “Speaking of biting,” he teases, his voice laden with innuendo, before suddenly going straight-faced. “Dinner’s ready in twenty.”

She bursts out laughing. “I was not expecting that.”

“I’m full of surprises,” he drawls, that smirk of his tilting his lips upward once more.

She heads inside, intent on cleaning up before dinner, but with Poe hot on her heels, she spends at least fifteen of those minutes pressed against the wall of her bedroom, Poe intent on “greeting” her after a long day apart.

It’s only when Kes’s voice rings out from downstairs telling them dinner is ready that they finally break apart, Poe’s lips flushed red, and her face even redder. With Poe’s laughter ringing in her ears, she sprints into action, changing out of her sweaty clothes and wiping down as best she can.

“We’ll get you cleaned up properly later,” Poe whispers into her ear, giving her a lascivious wink before bounding down the stairs.

She shakes her head fondly, even as she finds herself very much looking forward to later.

Once she gets downstairs, she finds that Kes has set up dinner outside on the back porch, with the lanterns lit and the electronic zappers set up to ward the mosquitoes away. Although Iolo is still up at the temple for an evening session, Karé joins them, and Rey smiles at her as she settles in next to the other woman.

“You’re the talk of the academy, you know,” Karé begins as she pours herself some iced tea.

“Oh?” Rey winces, her voice strangely high-pitched, worried that someone knows about the supply closet. She can just imagine the rumors and gossip that would go around.

“They’re still discussing the sparring session like it’s some sort of highlight reel. I’m worried that if they don’t see you again soon that we’ll have a riot on our hands.”

Rey breathes out a sigh of relief, glad that Kare didn’t notice her sudden anxiety, or her sudden relief. “Guess we’ll just have to do it again,” she says, and she means it. It’s been nice training by herself, making sure her forms and footwork were correct. She grew up on Jakku having to fight, but never learning it within the proper framework. And now that she’s got a school to think of, she needs to make sure she’s at her best, so that she can properly teach her students when they arrive.

There’s still so much for her to learn too. And while she’s still learning from the likes of Finn, from when he’s visited and him forwarding her training materials, and from practicing with Karé here, it’s nice to study and train by herself sometimes.

Dinner passes by in a pleasant haze, and she’s even able to ignore the buzzing of the insects as they seem to be avoiding the porch area for now. She’s drowsy, half-asleep in her chair with a full belly and Poe’s hand holding hers, his thumb rubbing over her knuckles, when her comm beeps with an incoming call.

She eyes the ID and sees it’s Finn, so she gestures to the others that she’s going to step aside to take it while their conversation continues.

“Hey peanut,” Finn says in greeting, the words affectionate but his voice oddly serious for a personal call. It’s not a surprise when he continues, “I’ve got news. Are you busy?”

“No, we were just eating dinner,” she answers, already feeling her heart sink in her chest. She doesn’t have to be a mind reader—or share such a close bond with Finn—to know it isn’t good news.

“Who with?” he asks, and after she tells him, he says, “They might as well hear it too.”

She doesn’t protest and heads back to the table, placing her comm in the center as she tells them “It’s Finn. And he’s got news.”

She exchanges a look with Poe, and worry—for her, and for the news they’re about to get—falls over his face. She settles back into her chair, once more taking Poe’s hand in hers.

“There’s been an attack. Several recently actually, as you know, and rumors of First Order activity have only been increasing. But the last two have been just a few days apart and you need to know about them.” Finn begins, and Rey sits up straight, still clasping Poe’s hand tightly. “From the reports we’re getting, it sounds like it’s the group we’ve been tracking. And it looks like they had some hired guns to help them too. Bounty hunters and the like. It’s not anything unusual from what we’ve seen of them, but we recognized a few faces from the photos.”

As Finn talks, she feels the now familiar fear spike through her, and her heart drops. “Were the attacks against the villages on the list?”

Finn sighs as he scrubs a hand over his face. He looks tired, weary. “No, actually,” he says, and the knowledge that the children in the villages were still safe for now offers her a momentary relief. Then Finn continues. “And that’s what was so surprising. The first attack was against a warehouse of food stocks and other provisions for the locals. The second attack was a system away, and they did the same thing. Took everything they had before lighting both places up. Nothing left. Except one thing. They left a tag behind. Some graffiti, a symbol really, and a message that the attacks would continue.”

“What was the graffiti?” she asks, leaning forward, her eyes intent on the hologram of Finn as she waits for him to drop the next anvil. There’s always something.

He doesn’t make them wait. “It was the Jedi symbol.”

Rey slumps back in her chair, as the rest of the table lets out stunned gasps. Suddenly it all makes sense. “They don’t know what exactly that list means, and until they do, they can’t go into those places to search since they know we’re watching. And they’ve tried to come after me, but they failed, and now security is tighter than before.”

She lets out a sigh, and prepares to drop her own anvil. “So now? Now they want me to come to them.”

***

“This . . . this is crazy. This is _madness_. You can’t be serious about this.”

Poe’s heart is in his stomach, fear caught in his throat. He thrusts his hands into his hair, pulling at the roots, somehow hoping that all he needs is that tinge of pain to bring him back to reality, and the past hour wouldn’t have occurred and they will still be outside on the porch eating dinner and laughing, Rey would be smiling at him, love and affection in her eyes while they’re surrounded by friends and family . . .

But no. No, this _is_ reality. Rey’s sitting on his bed as he paces in front of her and he’s struck by the overwhelming urge to run off with her, somewhere, anywhere, far away from all this, where no one can touch them, where no one can touch _her_.

“You know I have to do this, Poe,” she tells him, her eyes soft but sad. “You’d do the same thing.”

“No. No, you’re wrong.”

“I’m not. The second someone is in danger, you’re the first in line to help them. You’re the first to stand up. And gods, that used to drive me crazy during the war, both you and Finn running off with who knows what facing you on the other side. But that’s also why I love you.”

He finally stops pacing, pulling his eyes up from the floor to meet hers. He can feel the sting of tears in them even now.

The last hour has been a blur. After Finn had told them about the attacks, there had been discussion and debate and more than a few frantic, high-pitched words. Rey didn’t have to do this, they could find some other way . . .

But ultimately, Rey decided she would go to Finn and his team. They would put out a few feelers, spread the word that Rey would be willing to meet them. And hopefully, somehow they could put a stop to it—or, at the least, gain more information in their fight against the remnants of the First Order.

She said she knew—maybe not exactly from the intelligence Finn and his group have been able to gather, but in her gut, her instincts—that they were getting closer and closer to discovering the truth and figuring out just what those villages were hiding. And that they would soon have the ability to do something about it once they discovered what was being concealed on those planets.

A man who had implemented the program to kidnap and train soldiers for the First Order. Rumors of Sith officers who had been off-planet when Exegol was destroyed. Food, weapons, and munitions being stolen, and hyperspace routes off into wild space being utilized by unidentified ships.

Once upon a time the First Order had brainwashed their soldiers to diminish their individuality, and attempted to quash any signs of Force sensitivity among the children, even if they were not entirely successful. Finn was proof of that enough.

Rey had said to them she could only imagine what would happen if the First Order and Sith officers combined their skills together.

She could only imagine what would happen if they discovered the Force sensitive children, young and easily trainable. Instead of inhibiting their abilities, to instead corrupt them to the dark side and to use that power against the New Republic and its citizens.

They need to destroy that list and any information the First Order had about it. They need to ensure that the information can’t be put to use, to stop the First Order from gaining any traction that would allow them to continue to threaten the New Republic. The republic’s inaction had given the First Order the opportunity to rise and bring about their downfall the first time. They can’t be allowed to do it again.

Rey would be putting herself into danger for the chance to prevent them from finding the kids, those Force-sensitive children, and to keep those villages safe.

“If there’s a chance that I can help, I have to take it.”

But there’s a chance it could go very, very badly too.

Poe strides forward and drops to his knees in front of Rey, a soft sound of surprise escaping her lips as he does so.

He grips her hands in his, staring into her eyes. “Who knows what will be waiting for you? You’ll be bait! I know Finn and Jannah, but—”

“If you trust them, trust their team too.”

“I do, but,” he pauses, shaking his head as he struggles to put it all into words. She’s leaving _tomorrow_ to meet up with them. “But when you were attacked here, I was just down the path back at the house and . . . and even then, I had no idea what was happening. And then, when I found out you were attacked, it practically drove me crazy. I could almost _feel_ you, I knew you were still on Yavin, but I had no idea where, or for how long.”

It's almost too much. He breathes in through his nose and out through his mouth and focuses on the feeling of her fingers squeezing around his own, and tries to hold back his fear.

“I’ll come back to you, Poe. I promise.”

He shakes his head. He can’t risk losing her like this. He knows she’s more than capable. But they spent so much of the war apart, with her training and him going on missions with Finn, but then their paths had led them here, had led them together.

And suddenly it hits him. He doesn’t know why he hadn’t thought of it sooner.

“Let me go with you.”

He can go with her, to have her back and protect her, to ensure she’ll be able to come back. To ensure she’ll be able to fight another day, to have her school, to teach the next generation, to _live._

Her face is skeptical. “Poe, is that really a good idea? You’ve got the school here. They need you.”

“Karé and Iolo can handle it. They’re more than capable and I—I couldn’t focus knowing you’d be out there, doing gods knows what, somewhere where I can’t have your back. And you? You’re not alone anymore. I promise you, you will never be alone anymore. We’re a team. No matter what, we got each other’s back. We go together, right?”

Rey stares into his eyes a long moment. He gazes back, intently. Rey has always been fiercely independent, thinking she can do it all, and all on her own. She doesn’t often tell people what’s going on and tries to do things by herself. With Finn and Jannah there, he wonders if she’s going to keep him away, keep it all to herself, like before.

Then a smile blooms across her face, and she nods.

“We go together.”

***

Early the next morning, they awaken with the sun. The rest of the house is quiet and still, and they have at least another hour before they have to get up and get ready in order to make the rendezvous in time.

Rey’s relishing the opportunity to study Poe’s face before he wakes fully, feeling so much affection for the man resting beside her. She watches as he opens his eyes, sees the soft smile tug at his lips when he sees her there, before he leans in to kiss her good morning. His hair had caught the sun’s rays and his skin practically glowed in the light, and she couldn’t help but immediately respond, tugging him close to deepen the kiss.

She feels his answering smile beneath her own, before he leans back just far enough to see her face as he smooths his hand over her hair.

Then he’s closing the space between them once more, rolling his body to cover hers, and she sighs as his warmth envelops her completely. Yavin has never been cold, nor does Kes keep his house particularly chilly, but there’s something delightfully delicious in the feeling.

She lets her hand come up to tangle in his hair, the strands soft as always beneath her fingers. Poe’s hair is one of his weak spots, she knows, and he shows his appreciation by resting his weight more fully on her and deepening the kiss. She grants him entry to her mouth, savoring the way his tongue traces lightly in her mouth.

She can’t even begin to bring herself to care about morning breath with the way he’s kissing her now. And by the way their bodies slowly grind together, his hand stroking up and down her side, something akin to a growl rumbling in his chest, she doesn’t think he minds much either.

It’s just her and him in this moment, in this calm before the storm, and all she wants to do is get lost in him. Nothing else matters.

It’s short work to rid themselves of clothing, and then she’s guiding him inside of her, both releasing soft groans as they’re finally united. But for a long moment they remain unmoving as they stare into each other’s eyes.

“Everything is going to be okay,” she murmurs, cupping his jaw in her hand, as she feels protectiveness and agony and hope and desire and _love_ , so much love, all mix together in the little cocoon that surrounds them.

He turns his head just enough to kiss the sensitive skin on the inside of her wrist, his eyes closing for a brief moment.

“It will be,” he echoes as he leans in to kiss her, and then they’re moving, his hips thrusting into hers deeply, intensely, and she finds herself whimpering his name, lost in pleasure as she works her hips along with his. When she finally topples over into her climax, his forehead pressing into hers and whispers of “I love you” falling from his lips, she’s helpless to do anything but return that feeling, and to hold him as he follows her over the edge.

Afterwards, with the sweat still cooling on their skin, she remains happily wrapped up in his arms. His eyes are closed, his lips turned up into a soft smile, and she lays her head on his chest, content to let him hold her, and to hold him.

She thinks he’s about to slip into a doze, if he hasn’t already. She’s soothed into relaxation herself, her head slowly rising and falling with his slow, even breathes, but she’s further from sleep. So she lets her fingers stroke over his arm and chest, delighting in the feeling of his skin beneath hers, before traveling to the small silver ring hanging from the end of his necklace and which currently rests on his chest.

She traces her finger over the smooth metal and marvels at the way the ring is kept burnished to a shine even after so many years. She knows the care he’s taken with it. She knows the story behind it. He had told her once, not too long ago, about his mother’s wedding ring that he keeps with him even to his day, just waiting for the right partner to give it to.

Sometimes, in the quieter moments, she finds herself imagining what it would look like resting on her finger.

There’s a subtle shift in the bed, and then Poe’s hand comes up to rest atop hers, pressing it gently into his chest, the metal, warmed by his skin, resting beneath her hand.

He doesn’t say anything, nor does she. There’s too much hanging over them right now, with the stress and danger of the upcoming mission ahead of them, and they need to get up in a few minutes anyway.

But in these last few moments, as his thumb rubs her knuckles gently, and his other arm pulls her deeper into his embrace, she can’t help but think that maybe he’s imagined what it would look like resting on her finger too.


	16. Chapter 16

“Just like old times!”

Finn’s voice rings out in the clearing as he walks down the ramp of the ship that’s dropping him off at their rendezvous point. As it had descended into view, Rey couldn’t help but be intrigued by the ship itself. It’s an older model, but well-maintained, with several modifications made to its exterior, and well suited for clandestine activities and other situations where the crew wanted to keep a low profile. And it’s also a model she’s never flown before. She’s eager to get her eye (and to be honest, her hands, if at all possible) on the controls of that ship one day. Maybe Finn will let her take it out for a spin after their mission ends.

But first, “Finn!” she shouts, running up to him and throwing her arms around him. The last time she had seen him in person was when he had arrived on Yavin after she had been attacked. It’s been messages and calls since then, and as she hugs him to her tightly, she can’t help but breathe him in.

She’s missed him so much. Her first friend. Her best friend.

“It’s good to see you too, Rey,” he says, as his arms wrap around her just as tightly. A moment later, another pair of arms wraps around them both, and she grins. Finn laughs, adjusting one arm to encircle the other person. “And it’s good to see you too, Poe.”

She feels a thump against her—well, they’re all huddled so close to each other, she should really say their—legs.

Finn leans over to pat the droid on top of his dome. “How you doing, Beebee?”

BB-8 sends a volley of beeps back at him.

Finn’s brow furrows. “I really need to learn binary.”

“You really do.” Rey grins. “But he said he’s missed you.”

“I missed you too, buddy.” Then he looks at the other two droids waiting behind BB-8. “And you too, R2, D-O.”

Rey’s still a little shocked that D-O decided to come along into what could be a dangerous mission. But she knows how attached D-O is to BB-8. And that he’s more than a little attached to Rey herself. She feels her heart swell with affection for her little duckling, following wherever she and BB-8 go.

She’s smiling down at the little droid, at the way he keeps close to his friend, when Finn asks, “Everybody ready to get this show on the road?”

BB-8 gives a little trill of agreement and begins to roll up the Falcon’s ramp. Rey shares a look with Poe and then nods at Finn, and the three of them follow BB-8 towards the ship.

It feels good that the three of them are together again. It feels natural. They’re a team. But even more than that, they’re family. All of them, even her little ducklings.

But she can’t completely ignore the ripple of apprehension that runs up her spine as the Falcon’s ramp closes behind them.

***

Soon after Rey lifted the Falcon off the planet, the first part of the plan was set in motion. And they knew just who to contact to help them spread the word that Rey was willing to meet with the First Order soldiers determined to get her attention.

And luckily, this time, it wasn’t too difficult to get Poe to send a message to Babu Frik. After Kijimi and Exegol, he wasn’t so grumpy about reaching out to the little Anzellan.

“It wasn’t exactly the first time he had helped me out when I got into a bad situation either. The first was before the war. Before the navy. When I didn’t exactly have anyone else to turn to.” Rey quirks an eyebrow at him in question, and he leans in to press a kiss to her temple. “I’ll tell you about it later,” he says, as the comm emits a beep, letting them know Babu had replied.

The little droidsmith’s message was short and to the point, promising them to send the message out as quickly as possible.

So far, everything was proceeding smoothly, even if it was just the beginning of their mission.

But now, all they could do was wait.

***

Poe _hates_ waiting.

The waiting is always the hardest part. Even in the company of your closest friends, the waiting is always agonizing.

He’s never been a patient guy. He’d rather _do_ and _act_ , and even with the strength of Leia’s lessons behind him, the urge to move has never left him entirely.

So he knows he’s been more than a little grumpy since the mission started. He can admit that to himself. Granted, he likes spending time with Finn, Rey, and even R2, not to mention the two little droids who seem to be constantly disappearing into all of the Falcon’s nooks and crannies, eager to explore every hidden part of the ship. And it’s not like they would ever run out of opportunities to discover something new on board. The Falcon was a smuggler’s ship, and Han Solo knew how to keep things hidden with the best of them.

Once, early on, BB-8 even came rushing up to the three of them, babbling about a stash of Corellian whiskey hidden away, along with a few bottles of Alderaanian Toniray wine.

Rey’s brow wrinkles in confusion and maybe even a little disgust. “That stuff must be ancient by now.”

Rey may be hesitant, but Poe only perks up. “They only get better with age.”

“Really? That can’t be right,” Finn adds, sharing a look with Rey, some unspoken communication between the two.

“I promise you, it does. Try it, you’ll see.” Poe can practically taste it now. Well, at least the whiskey. It’s been ages since he had a proper Corellian whiskey, but he’s never been offered the chance to try Toniray wine. Following Alderaan’s destruction, the wine had ceased being manufactured, and the few remaining bottles were practically priceless.

Once, while talking with Leia, huddled together over maps and diagrams soon after he joined the Resistance, Leia had practically waxed rhapsodic about the wine. It makes his heart ache to think of it now.

Finn looks puzzled. “I wonder why it’s hidden away here?”

“Han had gotten it for Leia.” Poe doesn’t need to have heard it from the man himself to know it’s true. Just another way that the two of them had suffered so much, that they couldn’t even share one last drink together.

Rey reaches her hand out to him, and he clasps it in his. She rubs her thumb against his skin, so soft and gentle, and his heart almost breaks as it overflows with so much love and affection for her.

She smiles. “Well, we should try it. Not tonight, but when this mission is done. A toast to Han and Leia.”

That sounded lovely.

But still, he’s grumpy.

The pressures of the mission, the stress, the way Rey is pretty much offering herself on a silver platter to the remnants of the First Order, it’s just too much to ask of him to be happy right now.

And even when he sits at the table watching Finn and Rey practically dance around the open floor of the galley with practice sabers held in their hands, he’s grumpy.

“Just wait till you try blocking bolts blindfolded,” Rey teases, as she thrusts her saber towards Finn.

Finn harrumphs. “Maybe next time,” he retorts, blocking a strike from her.

But there’s something in Finn’s retort that hits him square in the chest. _Maybe next time_. There’s a weight and certainty behind it. Poe knows Rey, knows how much she misses Finn, not just as her friend—her best friend—but especially now that they share this connection in the Force. She’s hinted that she wants Finn to join her in training to be a Jedi. More than hinted really, but after a lifetime of disappointment, she always seems a little hesitant to express her wants and desires openly.

But he can see it now. Maybe not immediately, maybe not even in the next year. But sooner rather than later, he thinks Finn will take Rey up on her offer, to further explore his sense of the Force and hone his skills.

Finn likes to try new things and explore new opportunities. And if Finn thinks it’s the right thing to do, well, they’d be no stopping him.

Poe rather likes that idea. Finn coming to Yavin, training with Rey and helping Rey train the younglings. Not to mention Finn could come by the academy, impress the cadets too. Maybe they’d even be neighbors? Poe smiles at the idea of his best friend living so close. They’d be family really, together once again as they all grow up and grow old, sharing the best part of their lives together.

(Poe tries to bury the thought of younglings of his own, having children with Rey, and Finn being the godfather, because who else, who better? It’s too soon to be thinking of that anyway. They’re on a mission. He needs to focus.)

But still.

Poe rather likes the idea of it all.

The future seems so bright and open, with endless possibilities before them.

But also . . . it makes him grumpy. Even fearful. He’s never really let himself think too much of the future while fighting and flying in the war. Fighter pilots have a notoriously short life span.

But now, the war has ended, and he’s just a teacher at a school, the director of a military academy, a man living on Yavin with his friends and loved ones nearby. Now, he can let himself consider all the possibilities, and the thought of a bright, wonderful future with Rey at his side, and maybe even Finn nearby, helps ease some of his worries and frustrations. But he knows it also leaves his heart at risk of being more easily bruised if something goes wrong.

Because missions can go wrong.

He can’t think like that.

 _Hope is like the sun_ , he reminds himself. _Everything will be fine._

He hopes he’s doing alright by Leia. He led the Resistance through the battle of Exegol, made Finn his co-general, all because of the lessons he learned by her side. He’s leading a military academy, hoping to take the lessons they learned from their past failures to ensure that evil won’t rise and the galaxy won’t go to war again anytime soon. By Leia’s side, he learned what was really important, and by her side, he was led to Rey. By her side, he learned how to hope for a better future. Even with his more immediate worries, like the inspection at the academy in a few weeks and this mission, he can take what he learned from her to make things better and brighter.

He also learned patience by her side. Or, at least, he tried to. He thinks she must have known that’s an issue that will take constant work from him. But he learned that sort of hard work from her too.

The First Order mercenaries will be the ones making the next move.

But, like Leia, he’s never had a problem coming up with plans on the fly.

_Hope is like the sun._

_Everything will be fine._

***

The message they’ve been waiting on comes through early the next morning.

When they finally get it deciphered, it’s only two words:

“Come home.”


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: As you know from the last chapter, there's been message asking Rey to "Come home." Rey and crew have a plan that essentially involves a sort of "tactical surrender." In short, Rey lets herself be taken by the First Order, and we see her handcuffed to a chair and blindfolded. There is no torture of any kind (not now, or in future chapters), but I wanted to give everyone a heads up on what happens. If you have any questions, feel free to ask here or on tumblr.

“Oh no.” That’s all Finn says. The way his eyes widen though tells the rest of the story.

Rey figures the message out immediately, even if it’s not really her home anymore. No, her home is on Yavin, and with Poe and the rest of her friends. The message itself is merely a mockery of the word, but still, she knows what it means. And she’s not surprised that Finn’s right on her tail. And it’s not just because he’s Force-sensitive either, or that she’s been working with him on some techniques to enhance those abilities, particularly that intuition of his that he already seems exceptionally strong with.

No, Finn figures it out for another reason entirely, and she can’t resist a glance over at Poe. His eyes are shadowed with concern, but still, his lips quirk just the barest hint upwards at Finn’s reaction.

Clearly, Poe knows what that message means too.

Poe shakes his head, a mix of exasperation and amusement unfolding on his face. “Guess you know what that means,” he says. “Looks like we’re going back to—”

“Don’t say it, Dameron!” Finn interrupts, holding a hand up.

Poe’s grin only grows wider.

Rey sees where Poe’s headed, and she can’t resist the opportunity to tease her friend either. “I thought you’d be more excited Finn,” she muses. “So many fond memories there.”

“I crashed my ship there” Poe begins.

“I got shot at there,” Rey continues.

“I also got shot at there,” Poe says, tapping a finger against his lips thoughtfully.

“TIE fighters came after us”

Poe sighs. “A long hot trek across the desert.”

“Oh, and don’t forget about—”

“I got it!” Finn exclaims, throwing his hands up in the air. “I got it.”

Rey risks another glace over at Poe, and unable to help it, they both burst out laughing.

“You two are crazy. Utterly crazy. I don’t know how I put up with you two. And now you two together?” Finn waves a hand at the two of them, exasperated. “Gods grant me serenity . . .” he mutters, shaking his head as he walks back towards the galley.

Rey collapses into Poe, the two of them only laughing harder.

***

Less than 24 hours later, she finds herself once more on Jakku, a spike of anxiety shooting through her gut as she stands alone, staring at her old AT-AT.

Suddenly, she has to stifle a burst of incredulous laughter as she realizes something. She seems to have a knack for getting herself into these types of situations.

First there was peeling off from Finn and Poe on the Star Destroyer while the two men searched for Chewie and she looked for the missing dagger. Then there was heading to Exegol by herself, walking into the Sith’s lair alone to face the evil that was her grandfather in an attempt to keep her family safe.

She takes a deep breath and reminds herself that she wasn’t really in it alone back then.

And she’s not really alone now. Like before, she knows Poe and Finn will follow. They would have her back, even though she had separated from them to fulfill her portion of the mission.

Tactical surrender is what Jannah had called it, when Rey, Finn, and Poe had returned to meet up with the rest of the crew, before Rey headed to the surface of the barren planet alone in the Falcon. Finn and Poe had arrived separately, stationed nearby but out of range, to wait for their next move. But back in the air, as Jannah addressed the small crew, the other woman’s voice had been firm and authoritative, though her eyes softened with compassion as she met Rey’s gaze.

It was not easy for Rey to contemplate such a plan when Jannah had initially proposed it to her, and it wasn’t easy to hear her say it to the entire crew.

And with the waves of fear and anxiety she felt roiling in Poe, she knew it was not easy for him either.

In fact, she thought it might even be harder. She’s heard the stories from Karé and Jess and Iolo. She’s heard the stories from BB-8. Poe was not one to ever consider leaving anybody behind, nor put them into danger needlessly. Poe would put himself into danger—has put himself into danger—ten times over, if it meant keeping his friends and squad safe.

And she knows it certainly doesn’t help that she and Poe are together.

Combined with the trauma of war and the brutal cost of his torture by Kylo Ren, she knows he hates to be out of control, hates to be helpless, especially when others are suffering.

It’s no wonder he’s been unusually grumpy on this trip, or how tightly he’s held her every chance he got.

She swallows against the well of anxiety that burbles up in her throat and tries to calm her racing mind, trying to remind herself of the feeling of being held, warm and safe, in his arms. But it’s hard to do so with all the memories from Jakku springing to the forefront of her mind. With a deep breath, she walks through the weak light of early morning, leaving the Falcon resting and shut down on the sand behind her. She heaves a panel open and makes her way inside her old home, the walls surrounding her feeling more claustrophobic than ever.

Still, she notices all the changes immediately. Her stash of rations is long gone. So is her old plate, and the ratty pillow she had used. Even her old hammock is no longer there.

The marks she had carved into the wall still lingered though. She quickly casts her eyes away, reminding herself her days of loneliness were long gone. Instead, she focuses on her old helmet, a comfort on so many lonely days when she used to imagine herself as a daring pilot during the Rebellion, adventures only a heartbeat away.

And then there, next to an old spinebarrel planet which somehow still survives, sits the pilot’s doll she had made for herself as a small child. A warm burst of affection fills her chest as it reminds her of her own pilot.

She wonders if maybe they could return here one day to collect the few treasures she had as a child. There’s not much she wants to remember from her old life, but these things would be nice.

With that thought, she heaves herself back out of the walker and slides down until her feet hit the sand, the sun quickly heating her skin as it continues to rise, and waits.

But not for long.

A ship approaches low on the horizon, nothing but a speck of black in the otherwise barren landscape. She knows it’s coming for her. It gets closer and closer, until finally it circles her old AT-AT and lands not too far from the Falcon.

Moments later, a man appears, followed by several men and women in dark but mismatched clothing as they descend a ramp.

“Hello there,” the man calls out as he approaches. “I was wondering if you would actually show. I’m glad you took my offer to meet.” He grins, but it’s a dark thing. “And that you actually showed up alone. A wise choice.”

She breathes through the spike of anger that pierces her gut at the implication. She has no doubt that they would have attacked whoever dared to come with her. “Did I really have a choice?”

He stares at her for a long moment, his gaze unnerving, and smiles.

***

Poe hates waiting.

 _Hates_ it.

He should be there with her, watching her back. That’s what he should be doing.

But that’s not the mission.

And it kills him.

Instead of suggesting that maybe, just maybe, the whole idea of Rey going in alone was utter banthashit, he had told them “I might know someone” when they were brainstorming just how him and Finn could get on the planet undetected. They knew the First Order mercenaries were going to be scanning her ship to make sure she had arrived at her old home alone. And it wasn’t a stretch to imagine that they would be scanning other incoming ships to Jakku to make sure her allies weren’t going to try to get on the planet through other means too.

Incoming ships to Jakku were rare, and were often the same few traders over and over again. No one would come to that junkyard planet unless they had a reason, and that meant it was usually the same folks over and over again.

After Poe had crashed him and Finn into Jakku escaping the First Order, he wouldn’t have survived without sheer luck and a fortunate encounter with a Jakku native, a Blarina named Naka Iit. With his help—and a lucky ( _or was it unlucky?_ ) encounter with a criminal clan where Poe got to show off his piloting skills to help Naka Iit escape, earning the Blarina’s gratitude—he made it to Blowback Town, where he hitched a ride from a friend of the Blarina named Ohn Gos to get back to Yavin IV.

Ohn Gos was a merchant in town and his ship was registered and familiar to Jakku. With a little smooth talking (and more than a few credits), Gos met them far outside of Jakku airspace and brought them to the planet’s surface.

Separate from Rey.

Now they wait to see if they’ll need to intervene on Jakku, or if the First Order mercenaries will take to the sky once more to take her off world.

They have contingency plans for both.

He hates both. He hates that they need both.

He _hates_ waiting.

***

Rey slowly comes to, blinking her eyes heavily a few times to clear them.

But the world around her still remains dark.

She feels fuzzy and disconnected, and she struggles to regain enough awareness to figure out what’s going on. She shifts her head slightly, her deeply ingrained survival skills coming to the surface enough that she knows she may want to still seem asleep— _or is it unconscious?_ —for a bit longer while she regains her bearings. The subtle movement shifts rough fabric against her face and hair, and she realizes there’s a bag over her head, effectively cutting off her eyesight.

Shifting her focus lower, she feels a faint throbbing in her back. She vaguely remembers the shock of electricity meeting her back as she stood in the sands of Jakku, surrounded by the First Order thugs. Then there’s the metal cuffs around her wrists and her ankles too, while she sits on a hard chair. She wonders if she could unlock the cuffs, and she reaches out with the Force to see just what sort of locking mechanism keeps them in place.

Except she can’t.

There’s nothing but empty space where she once felt the energy of the Force around her so strongly.

Her heart begins to race, beating a rapid drum beat in her chest.

_Breathe. Just breathe._

But then she hears footsteps approaching, and the bag is removed from her head, far more gently than she expected.

“Welcome back,” the man says, as he settles down in the chair across from her.

“I’d feel a lot more welcome if you’d take these cuffs off me too.”

The man grins, a slimy thing that goes all too well with his dark, slicked backed hair and black clothes.

 _Gods, why do these people all dress alike?_ She snorts, the man across from her raising a single eyebrow.

“I think you know we can’t do that.”

“Then why don’t you tell me what you _can_ do,” she retorts, snidely.

“Well, that’s why you’re here, isn’t it? To figure out what we can do.” He gestures to the ship around them, and she knows it’s a ship, even if the room is bare save for the chairs the two of them sit in, the dark gray walls revealing nothing more about the location. “But more than that, you’re here to figure out what _we_ can do,” he says, gesturing between the two of them.

She’s immediately revolted by the idea that the two of them would do anything together. “I’m here to stop you from attacking any more peaceful villages.”

“And you can if you want. The power is in your hands.”

“You’ll have to forgive me if I don’t believe that, considering—” and she thrusts her hands out as much as she can with the cuffs around her wrists holding her to the chair, “you’ve got me a bit tied up here. You planning on torturing me too?”

His lips quirk upward, a hint of amusement that only comes out as something entirely reprehensible. “Of course not. We’re far too civilized for that. And isn’t that what we all want? A bit more order, a civilized and peaceful society.”

“By making people fear you, bow down before you?”

“By making them see what they’re missing.” The man stands and brushes his hands together, as if they were dirtied simply by coming into her cell. “Anyway, I just wanted to introduce myself. I’m General Ardan. I’ll have dinner brought by soon.”

As he walks to the door, Rey strains forward once again. “You’re not even going to tell me why I’m here?”

“You’ll see soon enough.”

And then he’s gone, and she’s alone once more.

Rey tries to take stock of her surroundings, but the walls give her no more information than before. She can’t feel the Force, and other than the faint hint of movement and the recycled air pumping through the vents, all she knows is that she’s on a ship.

But she has no idea where to.

She briefly considers pressing into the flesh of her hip to activate the homing beacon beneath her skin. Until she did, the homing device would remain passive, inactive, unable to be identified on any type of scan. ( _“Complements of Rose,” Jannah had said as she inserted the device. “Even if they did a full body scan, it’ll look just like a birth control implant. Nothing more.”_ ).

But not yet.

She wants to see where this ship would take her.

And maybe she can destroy that list and the rest of the First Order remnants along with it.


	18. Chapter 18

They spend a few days in space. Rey can feel it every time the ship jumps into hyperspace.

“Just in case your friends were intending to try to follow us. We’re not stupid enough to think that they simply left you all alone.” But then that cruel grin of his appears again, causing a shudder to run down her spine. “But I highly doubt even with your scientists, the military has been able to implement hyperspace tracking yet.”

Rey wants to smack him on behalf of Rose. But she doesn’t—even if she technically can’t, with her hands still bound by the Force-blocking cuffs—and tries to keep her face as neutral as possible.

Because Rose had come up with something far better. Her friends will know where she is when it’s time.

So, for now, she waits.

***

It’s daylight when they land, even if she only has a moment to drink the sunlight in as they hurriedly escort her out of the ship and into the building, two guards in front of her and two guards behind.

Even with the handcuffs blocking her access to the Force, the guards are still wary of her.

 _Good. They should be_ , she thinks, as she gets the first glimpse of the outside world in a few days. She figures it must be late afternoon, the sun setting behind the large building and casting the ship and the rest of the hangar in shadow. She only has a moment to appreciate the forest surrounding it, tall trees reaching up towards a clear sky, and too few clues to let her guess what planet she might be on.

As she’s led inside though, she realizes why there are only a handful of ships outside. Even without the Force, she knows the building is relatively empty. She can’t really estimate how many other beings are here, not without the Force, but it’s almost too quiet, too few signs of this place being lived in. Half-emptied pallets and containers line the walls, signs of disarray and chaos as tasks are left half completed when soldiers are forced into other, more important, tasks. All signs that this is not exactly the well-run organization the First Order had been at its height.

No, this is an organization in chaos. A military struggling to rebuild in the face of the gains made by the Resistance, and the new government and its military.

She hopes this is their headquarters. The center of their activity. And despite the signs of chaos, there are also indications that it just might be the main hub of First Order activity. She keeps her face carefully neutral though, even as the thought encourages her. This could give them the opportunity to cut the head off this organization early, before it could have too much time to rebuild.

Still, it won’t be soon enough. And first, she needs to see what they know. She needs to make sure they can no longer access that list.

Her guards lead her to a cell, removing the cuffs on her ankles and detaching the cuffs at her hands. However, while her hands are no longer bound to each other, each cuff still encircles a wrist.

She wonders if they think she’s defenseless without the Force, incapacitated by being confined to this cell.

She hopes they do. It’ll be their undoing.

With one last cursory check of her cell, the guards leave, and once more she finds herself alone.

But not for long.

The door swings open, and a familiar face walks in.

The last time she had seen that face was in a photo Finn had sent her, who he had identified as one of the officials in charge of the kidnapping and assimilation of young children into the First Order.

She hopes her face remains impassive, even as she seethes at what this man has done, all the pain and horror he was responsible for, all the ways he’s hurt people like Finn and Jannah, and the countless families mourning the loss of their children.

“Hello, Rey.” The man has the smooth polished accent she has come to associate with those at the top levels of the First Order. “Thank you for agreeing to meet with us.”

“I have to say, your hospitality leaves a lot to be desired. Even in this cell, you keep these cuffs on me.”

“I think you understand the necessity of why we have to do so.” He sits down in a chair across from her. “But even so, you’re right. My manners are lacking. Let me introduce myself. I’m Admiral Kordall. I’m in charge here.”

Well, he seems to have been given— _or is it that he’s given himself?_ — a promotion. Not surprising in the power vacuum that had been left behind after the Battle of Exegol. She files away that tidbit of information. Maybe it’ll prove useful later. Still, she does not dignify his so-called manners with anything more than a curt “Where exactly is here?”

“No need for you to know the specifics right now. But suffice it to say, we are rebuilding what we’ve lost. To make it into something new. Something better.”

She rolls her eyes. “I have to admit, that idea doesn’t sound particularly appealing to me.”

The man grins, and she can’t completely repress the shudder that runs through her at the expression. “Ah, I figured you would say something like that. But maybe we can find something that will entice you to stay.”

As he continues to talk, her heart drops in horror. It’s not just that he knows about her stay on Yavin. They had already found her there after all. But he knows more than just the barest details. He knows about Poe and Kes, and the implication that maybe she found more than just a place to stay, but a place to call home there, too. He knows about Finn and Jannah.

And he knows about the school.

“The timing seems just a touch coincidental, hmm?” He laughs. “We made some serious errors last time. I can admit that. We were remiss in not taking advantage of all potential assets. See, in the First Order, we valued conformity. Obedience. Our soldiers were supposed to be the best, and there was no space for the more . . . unique, among them.” He stands, starting to pace the floor, his eyes growing hazy as he grows lost in reflection. “But clearly that was a lapse in judgment. But of course, there was a Plan B, even if we couldn’t see it at the time.” He turns and points at her, his gaze cold and calculating. “But you already knew about that list. Here it was all along, hidden away in the Emperor’s old data archive. No one was really sure what it meant. A simple list, a handful of villages scattered throughout the galaxy, but no indication as to what it meant.”

Rey swallows around a knot in her throat, not saying anything, as he returns to his seat in front of her, crossing one leg over the over and clasping his hands in his lap. “But you were seen at one of those villages. For the first time in ages, you were seen. And shortly after, word got around that you were planning to start a school. You, so soon after the war. Instead of training or searching for answers or doing whatever else you wanted to do after leaving that junkyard of a planet and fighting a war, you decided to go ahead and open a school.”

He relaxes back into his seat. “But you know, we could give you much better facilities. More resources. Whatever you desired.”

Her heart is thundering in her chest, but she does her best to keep it from showing. “And why would I do that?”

“Just think of all the good you could do. You could make the galaxy a better place. A safer place. You’d be responsible for saving so many people.”

She doesn’t have to stretch to hear the true meaning underpinning his words. Suddenly, she’s thrown back into a memory, standing in front of Palpatine, as he gives her the choice to save her new family.

She almost gave in back then, her fear for them too much to handle when she was alone in the dark depths of Exegol.

Admiral Kordall stands. “Why don’t you take some time to think it over?”

And then he’s gone.

***

Poe _hates_ waiting.

He sits in the Falcon’s cockpit as the seconds tick by, barely noticing the stars that gleam outside or the sounds of the others moving around inside the ship. After Jannah’s team had spotted a ship outbound from Jakku that didn’t come from the marketplace, he and Finn had rushed over to Rey’s old AT-AT to see the Falcon abandoned and no trace of Rey. Hurriedly, they had stashed their speeder in the ship’s hull and set off into space to meet up with the team.

And once again, he finds himself waiting.

_Where are you, Rey?_

Finn reassures him that she will be okay, that she is okay.

He tries to trust in the Force, like Finn, like Rey. He tells himself that Rey will let them know when she’s ready to come home.

Even still, he _hates_ waiting.

But it’s all he can do for now.

***

Rey’s not sure how much time she has. Hells, she has no idea what time it is, except that the base’s lights have dimmed signaling nighttime hours. But now, she scours the walls and the floors, feels over and around the frame of her bed. Finding nothing that works, she moves to the small refresher. And there she finds what she’s looking for.

Digging into the water tank, she pulls out a long slim piece of metal. With a little work, it’s the right size and shape to dig into the lock that surrounds the cuffs encircling her wrists.

Her past life on Jakku wasn’t really something she wanted to remember, but she does remember the skills she picked up there. She’s explored far too many abandoned ships while alone on Jakku, dug through the detritus left behind. She’s seen similar cuff designs back then, even if she didn’t know what they were used for. But she liked to tinker and explore, so she had brought them home with her so she could learn how to take them apart and figure out what made them tick.

Or really, what it took to open them up.

It ends up taking a little longer to pick the locks than she would have liked, but as she shook the first cuff, and then the second, off of her wrists, she indulges in that first moment of freedom, sitting down heavily as she feels the strong presence of the Force rushing back into her and surrounding her once more.

She breathes it in, letting the energy infuse into her very bones. Then, she reaches out, sensing every bit of energy that surrounds her, reaching out until she senses the places outside of her, outside of her room and down the hallway, through the building and out of doors.

She feels the life force of dozens of beings on this base. It’s likely there’s more off world too, based on the intel Finn had received.

But between the Force cuffs, the cell, and the fact they believed she was stuck alone on some unknown planet, no way to reach out for help, no way to get off planet herself, well . . .

She can’t help but smile. They’ve underestimated her, and it will be their undoing.

With a heavy exhale of breath, she stands and rolls her shoulders, ready for the next challenge.

At least this one was far easier to overcome than the handcuffs.

She knows every inch of her room and knows there’s no camera inside it. But she also knows that there’s probably one outside. However, she’s adept at climbing and crawling in narrow spaces, and there’s a vent just above the refresher.

She climbs onto the ledge of the sink before shoving the vent far enough out of place that she can hoist herself into the narrow opening. It’s dark and fairly claustrophobic with the walls pressing in on each side of her, a faint musty smell infusing the air that spoke of long periods of disuse.

She reminds herself she’s seen worse. The idea is not nearly as comforting as she hoped though. She takes one final deep breath in from the somewhat fresher air near the vent opening, and begins to crawl.

She struggles forward, worming through the passageway on her belly, feet pressing against the metal as softly as she can as her hands pull her forward, pausing every so often to reach out through the Force. Once, her foot bumps far too heavily against the wall. The resulting clang is faint, but she senses the pause of movement in the life signature just ahead of her. She tenses, her heart racing in her chest, until the person in the hallway below her begins to move forward again.

She lets out a breath and proceeds down the last stretch before she reaches her destination.

She had briefly entertained the notion of trying to find the Admiral’s room or office, to find some way to sneak in. But she would bet all her credits that his office would be the most secure, the most heavily guarded. It would need an access chip at the least, not to mention passcodes just to get on to the server, much less access the files she needed.

She wishes she had BB-8, or even R2-D2 with her, since all they had to do was plug into a terminal to find what they needed.

But she’s not that lucky.

Though as she looks through the narrow slits of a vent above the command center, she wants to laugh. Maybe she _is_ that lucky. There are two officers stationed in there, and one of them is leaning back in his chair, head lolling to the side, as he sleeps. The other one looks disgusted at his partner snoring away beside him.

It doesn’t take long for her to notice that the officer’s eyes, the one who’s still awake, are starting to blink warily, as he grows more and more tired.

Finally, he seems to shake himself awake. He hits the guy still sleeping on the shoulder and growls “I’m gonna get some coffee.” The sleeping officer seems to wake himself just long enough to grunt in acknowledgement before his chin droops back onto his chest.

With a final roll of his eyes, the other officer departs the room.

Hurriedly, Rey moves the vent aside, trying to do it as gently as possible. Still, there’s the faint clatter of metal on metal, and she winces, freezing in place.

When the officer doesn’t so much as twitch, she slowly climbs out and drops softly to the floor.

She’s not sure how much time she has. But she rushes over to the terminal beside the sleeping man, willing him to remain asleep as she starts reviewing the screen the other officer had left open and unlocked.

It’s a small victory, but a victory nonetheless. She grins and then gets to work. She’s racing the clock, and racing the odds too, hoping she has enough time to find what she needs before the other officer gets back from his coffee break, or before the man beside her wakes up and finds their prisoner in the command room.

She says a silent prayer. _I could use some of your luck right now, Han._

She just needs to find some proof to confirm that this is their base, the central location from where the First Order is trying to rebuild. That they could cut off the head of the monster before it could regain its strength and be a real threat once more. And if she could just find some proof that the list exists here, _and maybe only here_ , she prays, trying not to hope too hard, but unable to resist anyway.

She clicks through different folders, just enough to see the file names and the first bits of information stored in each file. There are numerous data packets, secure messages, mission briefs. She sees enough to determine just how much information comes in, and what sort of information goes out. She doesn’t go deep into them, not yet. That could be done when they had more time.

When she had backup.

Her gut tells her this is it. This is the place she needs to be. And as her eyes rove over the screen, that instinct begins to turn into certainty.

But she can’t find the list. She just needs some hint it’s here, that’s all. With the Admiral stationed here, and his vested interest in that list to create his own army of Force sensitive soldiers, it must be here. It _has_ to be here, somewhere he can access it. And she figures the list can’t only be on his person either, or on his personal datapad. There must be some way he can access it even if he’s not in his office on base. Some way to access it if he had to leave it behind, if he had to make a quick escape. And while that list needs to be accessible wherever he is, she knows it would be hidden in some way. He wouldn’t want just anyone to be able to access it, not when he’s trying to secure power for himself.

She’s scrolling down a list of file names for just a hint of something, when she feels a sharp stab of warning, and realizes the other officer is returning.

She focuses more intensely on the screen. A few more clicks and, hoping for a stroke of luck, she opens a file and—

_Jackpot._

She settles the vent cover back into place as the door to the command center opens.

Barely ten minutes later, she’s easing herself back into her room, carefully putting the vent cover back into place above her sink.

As she settles back into bed, cuffing her wrists once more and hiding the lockpick in a crevice between her bed and wall, she presses a finger hard into a spot on her hip, feeling the tell-tale pinch as the beacon comes to life.

It’s time for her to go home.

***

Sometime, during those long hours of waiting, Poe had dozed off into a restless sleep, hunched over in the pilot’s seat of the Falcon.

It’s there that he’s startled awake when Jannah’s voice rings out into the cockpit from the comms.

“Beacon’s been lit! Sending coordinates your way now!”

“Finn, get up here! We’ve gotta go!” Poe shouts behind him, immediately wide awake as he begins to scan the data coming through, quickly calculating the quickest route to Rey. From where they’ve been waiting in the space near Jakku, it’s only a four-hour trip away.

“We’ve got her location?”

“We’ve got it. Buckle up, we’re about ready to jump.” Poe sends the route to the rest of the team, spread out in a handful of ships around him. As the rest of the team confirms they’re locked in and ready to go, he pulls the lever, shooting them into hyperspace.

Over the next four hours, they review their options and Poe finds out just how handy it is to have two top-notch ground soldiers leading this fight. Without knowing exactly where Rey had been taken, they’ve spent the last few days making plans for a handful of different scenarios. Now that they know the location, it serves to narrow their plans down.

Rey’s beacon is sending them to a heavily forested and mostly uninhabited planet, with the exception of a few native villages scattered about. While a handful of pilots will be providing air cover, without knowing exactly what type of building or facility Rey is located in, or what kind of information they could glean from it, the brunt of the operation will take place on the ground.

And Poe will be right there on the ground with them.

No way was he sticking to the air when he could be on the surface, making sure Rey was safe and covering her back as they escaped. Not when he’s spent the last few days, restless and anxious, pacing the floor and making sure his blasters were clean and the Falcon in top form, desperately trying not to think about all Rey might have gone through in the last few days.

_Hope is like the sun . . ._

Rey’s his sunshine.

His knuckles are white from where he grips the controls, and he tries to remember to breathe.

It’s a very long four hours.


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> CW: there's a mention of a relatively minor blaster wound and blood. Don't worry, all our heroes will be okay, and if you have any questions before reading, let me know!

Their ships come in on the far side of the planet, hoping to skirt detection by the First Order forces on the ground. The planet is remote, almost uninhabited, only a few small villages scattered throughout the vast forests. C-3PO, back at base, assures them the locals were a non-humanoid species, making it easy to differentiate them from the First Order soldiers who were likely to fight them once Poe and the rest of his team arrived at the facility. Like the Empire before them, the First Order rarely tended to fill their ranks with anything but humans.

They land several klicks out, planning to make the rest of the trek on foot, while the x-wings remain in the atmosphere far above, planning to drop in when the landing team makes their infiltration.

Finn squeezes his shoulder, concern filling his eyes. “You ready for this, Poe?”

Poe hefts a bag filled with supplies onto his shoulder and double checks the blasters strapped on each thigh. “I am. And you?”

Finn studies his face for a long moment before his concern shifts into stern resolve. “I am.”

A quick series of chirps sounds from near their knees. Poe’s lips tilt up, even if he can’t actually bring himself to smile, not with so much resting on this mission. “He says he’s ready too.”

“All right then.” With one final clap on Poe’s shoulder, Finn turns to the rest of the team. “Let’s move, people.”

The forest air is cool, but damp, and as they begin their trek through the woods, Poe’s grateful for all the times that, as a child, his father took him on hikes through the Yavin jungles. He thinks those treks, led by the former Pathfinder, had prepared him for this very moment. They proceed at a steady clip through the trees and bushes, the branches scratching at his arms and face, his lungs burning with exertion, all the while he tries to make as little sound as possible to avoid alarming any security forces the First Order has lingering around.

Then again, the adrenaline, the sheer need to get to Rey and make sure she’s safe, makes it easy to ignore any pain as he pushes his body to the limits.

It’s only when the base is spotted over a ridge that they finally stop moving in order to assess the situation.

There are only a handful of ships out front, cargo and a few fighters mainly, along with some heavy-duty equipment clearly meant to move supplies around. It’s no longer the same imposing presence the First Order had at the height of their power. Instead, it was more like a new, fledgling operation.

Maybe they caught them early. Maybe they can stop them from growing.

Finn turns to the droid stationed next to them. “What do you read, Bee?”

BB-8’s motors whirr as it kicks into high gear, running a scan of the building in front of them, and then responds with a quick flurry of binary.

Poe listens intently as Finn looks between the two. “He says there’s three, maybe four dozen people in there currently. Rey’s beacon is still inside. He won’t know the layout though until we get inside and he finds a terminal, but he’ll be able to find her once we’re in.”

Finn returns to his binoculars. “And I see four—no, make that five—people out front. Armed and armored, but I think we can surprise them. Without more info about another way in—”

“This is it.”

Finn nods at Poe.

Finn turns towards the rest of the team to give them final directions, while Poe makes the call to the x-wings to come in and take out anybody who tries to leave the ground.

And then they’re on their way in.

While the rest of them wait at the outskirts, four of them work their way over the ridge and around the perimeter of the building until they’re just outside the hangar. Poe has no doubt they’ve been picked up on scans by now, and he can hear the faint chatter and thudding footsteps of the guards coming towards them. And he knows there are probably more on the way from inside even now.

So he has to do this fast.

Poe lunges around the corner, throwing two stun grenades into the building, and dives out of the way before their soldiers can train their guns on him. As he rolls behind a crate—which he hopes are not filled with explosives—Finn and the other two members of his team step forward, blasters raised, and quickly fire upon the guards.

BB-8 charges between them, rolling past them all to make his way towards a terminal, and quickly plugs in to begin his task. Even with shots firing all around them, Poe feels a burst of pride toward his droid, who always manages to step up when he’s needed.

There’s no one more loyal than Bee, he thinks. When it comes to his loved ones, BB-8 might even try to fight the universe itself.

The calvary arrives moments later, from both the ridge itself, led by Jannah with R2-D2 hot on her heels ( _“That one’s a fighter,” he had explained to Jannah during mission prep. She just placed her hand on the droid’s head, and simply responded with “Then we’ll get along just fine,” to R2’s pleased chirps in response)_. However, along with Jannah’s team arriving on site, so do the First Order teams from the interior of the building. Poe sees the moment one of the security forces spots BB-8, raising a blaster towards the droid—

But Poe gets there first. He takes out the soldier, two shots that send him down without him ever being able to take his own shot at BB-8. “C’mon Bee! Gotta hurry!”

It’s impossible to hear the droid’s reply, but moments later BB-8 unplugs from the terminal and rolls towards the open doorway. The other guards don’t see the movement, but Poe does. “We’ve got our opening, Finn!”

Finn flashes a series of hand signals towards Jannah. She nods at Finn, before lobbing her own series of stun grenades toward the First Order soldiers, forcing them—at least, the ones who weren’t stunned—to turn towards Jannah’s crew, giving Finn and Poe and a handful of others from their team the opportunity to make it to the open doorway unscathed.

“Alright, let’s go get the Jedi, and keep your heads up!” As soon as Finn issues those orders, he turns towards BB-8. “You’ve got a read on the beacon?”

BB-8 has barely issued his own chirp of affirmation before he begins racing down the hallways.

With all the chaos outside, the soldiers inside are so distracted as they hurry toward the action out front or attempt to salvage materials inside, that they barely notice the infiltrators until it’s too late. There’s little resistance from an organization that is clearly outmanned and out supplied after the recent losses in the war and the cleanup efforts after the battle of Exegol.

Poe almost feels weightless as they run down the hallways, knowing that Rey is near, they’re going to get her, it’s all going to be okay, his concern and anxiety giving way to hope and—

And then BB-8 halts in the middle of the hallway, rolling back and forth in confusion.

Poe stumbles to a stop right behind him. “What is it, Bee?” They’re in the middle of a long hallway, bright overhead lights shining clearly upon the white walls and gray floor, and no doors or windows in sight.

BB-8 emits a flurry of beeps in response to Poe’s query.

“What did he say?” Finn asks, quickly looking over his shoulder to glance at the droid, before returning his gaze towards one long stretch of hallway, blaster raised and ready, while another soldier does the same towards the opposite end.

“He says the beacon’s here. This is the location.” Suddenly Poe’s anxiety flares to life once more, and he chokes back a panicked breath. Did the First Order somehow find Rey’s beacon? Have they moved her somewhere else? Are they broadcasting some sort of signal to confuse BB-8’s sensors? “Try again, Bee.”

BB-8’s motor flares to life once again, and he burbles out a confused series of beeps as he rolls a few feet forward.

Poe’s heart drops. “He says this is the location. The beacon is somewhere around here.”

“That makes no sense. Are there any tunnels or other access points around here?”

Poe translates BB-8’s ensuing response. “He says there are no tunnels. The nearest rooms are just a handful of storage spaces, the kitchen, and the mess hall. They wouldn’t keep her in there.”

“No, but where else could the beacon be coming from?” Finn asks, rocking back and forth on his heels.

Suddenly there’s a thud and a startled gasp from the soldier behind them, and Poe briefly thinks they’ve been made and he whirls around, his blaster ready, and—

There’s Rey, standing up from a crouch, a brilliant smile on her face.

“Looking for me?”

Poe’s already running towards her, scooping her up into his arms as gently as he can, conscious of the fact that she might be injured. “Are you okay?”

She clutches at him tightly in return. “Never been better. They didn’t even touch me. Just asked me questions.”

At that, he pulls her into him tightly, no longer worried about exacerbating any injuries, tears coming to his eyes and coursing down his cheeks even as he twirls her around, her soft laughter ringing in his ears.

“Where did you come from?” Finn’s voice comes from behind them, and then he’s putting an arm around Rey and pressing a kiss to the top of her head.

Poe is so delighted, so relieved, to see Rey again, that he hasn’t even thought to ask her that. He pulls back far enough to look into her face and her lovely eyes to wait for her answer, even if he can’t let her go just yet.

One of Rey’s hands comes up to cup his cheek, wiping his tears away with her thumb. And even as she looks at him, tears shining in her own eyes, she points up with her other hand. They look where she’s pointing and there, above them, is a vent, the grate pulled aside, just enough room for her to drop through. “They really should beef up their security around here. And now that that’s out of the way, I believe we got a mission to complete?”

Poe chokes out a laugh through his relieved tears, and then Rey is telling them of what she had found hidden away in their computer servers. Intelligence from First Order allies, plans to steal more credits and supplies, information on all the remaining soldiers and officers who survived the aftermath, and even more importantly, their locations.

“And the list. They have the list. It’s just in the admiral’s files. If we can get access to it, and destroy it . . .” Rey calls out as they run through the hallways.

Poe’s got so many questions for her, like how she found out the information, how she found a way out of her cell.

But that’s for later. First, they’ve got a mission to fulfill and he follows her lead.

As they approach the command center, Poe calls down towards the droid charging along beside him, “Bee, you got a big job ahead of you. Think you can download the information and then wipe their systems after?”

Poe’s never heard his droid sound so utterly and completely offended. Of course he can. Poe just grins. As if he ever had any doubt.

And then once that part of the mission is done, they can return safely to Yavin, to home. And with the new information they’ve gained and the First Order prisoners to be brought back for trial, hopefully it’ll mean the last of the First Order’s attempts to harm the galaxy.

The future seems even brighter than before.

It’s why it’s so unexpected when they turn a corner just a hallway down from the command center and a blast rings out, the sound ricocheting through the hallway, and Rey falls to the ground.

“No!” Poe shouts, his blaster already raised as he slides to a halt in front of Rey, quickly firing off shots towards the three First Order soldiers just ahead.

Two go down easily, and Finn coming to a stop in front of them, takes down the third.

Poe sees red, getting ready to stand and make his way forward to make sure they stay down, when he hears a soft grunt of pain and then his name from behind him.

He turns back towards Rey, who’s clutching her bicep, red streaks of blood winding their way down her arm.

He shuffles closer to her on his knees and helps her sit up, his heart thudding in his chest and his pulse ringing in his ears. “Sweetheart, are you okay? Is it just your arm? Did they get you anywhere else?”

He’s running his fingers over her temple and her head, down her other arm and over her torso, the thought of further injuries causing panic to well up inside him, threatening to overwhelm him.

But then she laughs, the sound strained but clear enough that it calms him like nothing else can. Well, except for her voice, and her reassurances that she’s indeed okay. “It hurts, but it’s just my arm. It’s minor. Nothing that I can’t deal with.”

Still, he scowls at the idea that she’s injured and hurting. That she’s used enough to pain that she considers this just a minor injury. She shouldn’t have to deal with any of that.

Her fingers brush over his cheekbone softly. Then she gives him a small grin. “But maybe you can give me a hand to stand up? Let’s get this mission over with so we can get home.”

They hurry towards the command room, BB-8 plugging into a nearby terminal to override the locks. As the doors open, Poe and Finn lead the charge in, quickly taking down the two soldiers who were racing around attempting to destroy the files and the equipment inside.

“Quick, Bee, hurry and see if you—” Poe pauses, his droid already racing towards the terminal to access the database. He finishes, unnecessarily, “— can recover anything.”

The droid doesn’t even dignify that with a response.

Poe nods at his droid, pride and affection filling him in equal measure. “Good boy,” he whispers, softly.

He has no time to reflect on his droid’s actions though. While Rey and Finn head to the computer next to BB-8, Poe walks just outside, and prowls around the doorway, shoulders set and blaster ready. He has a job to do, a mission to complete. He will keep her safe, keep all of them safe, while Rey and Finn and BB-8 access the files they need. He just needs to give them the opportunity to do their job so they can deal another blow to the remains of the First Order.

He can still hear remnants of the firefight going on outside even from where he stands, and isolated shots and skirmishes from throughout the building itself as their team makes their way through it. But the sounds, already faint and muffled through layers of steel and duracrete, are growing further and further apart.

It doesn’t take long for Jannah’s voice to come through his comm. “Looks like we got the targets neutralized. I’m sending a team to bring the prisoners back to the ships, while the rest continue to make sure the building is clear. And the x-wings are on standby awaiting any further orders.”

Poe briefly feels a flash of hope shoot through him, even if the need to be alert and aware, ready to neutralize any threat that comes toward them, prevents him from celebrating the news.

He can faintly hear Finn release a small noise of triumph too, even though he knows Finn’s still too wrapped up in his work on the database to properly focus on the news either. Poe continues to hear the clacking of keys, whispered instructions, and the whirr of BB-8’s motors behind him as they work.

“Good. We’ve got Rey, and we’re in the command center seeing what we can get,” Poe tells Jannah while his eyes stay intently focused down the hallways, alert to any possible danger. “We’ll meet you back at the ship when we’re done.”

Finally, BB-8 chirps triumphantly, the sound of satisfaction as clear as day.

The grin in Rey’s voice is as clear as day too. “Never underestimate a droid.” Then she asks, “You got the list too?”

A chirrup in acknowledgment. “All right then,” Rey says, her voice full and clear. “Let’s wipe it out.”

Poe can feel every second that ticks by in his blood. He’s so close to getting them all out of there safely, so close to getting Rey back to the ship so he can make sure she’s okay and to take care of her and . . .

Then the lights go out.

He tenses, suddenly on high alert, but then he hears the burble of BB-8’s apology.

Rey just laughs. “Just means you did a thorough job, that’s all.”

They click on their flashlights, and he’s ready to head back to the ship, when Rey places her hand on his arm, her touch grounding him once more.

“I just need to make one last stop.”

She leads them to the admiral’s quarters, and the moment they get the door unlocked, she heads for the desk in the corner, and pulls open a drawer.

Then she’s pulling out her lightsaber and clipping it to her belt.

“Can’t leave this behind,” she says with a grin. “Now, lead the way, General.”


	20. Chapter 20

Less than an hour later, they’ve returned to the Falcon. Two teams remain behind even now, one on the ground and one in planetary orbit, waiting for any stragglers to appear. Jannah, along with the rest of her team, have brought the captured First Order soldiers to their own ship, including Admiral Kordall. Rey had nodded with satisfaction at the news, while Finn let out a huge sigh, a quiet sense of triumph surrounding him.

After a quick exchange with R2-D2, who had returned from his mission with Jannah, BB-8 finds himself a terminal to plug into, and begins to upload the data it obtained from the First Order computers. D-O huddles close to its friend now that they are together once again. Poe’s not sure how, but he senses a feeling of relief from the small droid. It feels as if D-O was letting out its own long sigh, something in its metal frame almost seeming to relax now that everyone has returned.

For his part, Poe hasn’t let go of Rey’s hand from the second he finished plugging in the coordinates and set them on a course to return to their rendezvous point. Hells, he’s barely been able to keep his eyes off her, even when she had giggled at him and pointed out the cockpit window as he took the ship into atmo. “Maybe you should watch where you’re going?”

“I’m going wherever you are, sunshine,” he responds flirtatiously, even throwing in a wink for good measure.

 _Gods, but her laughter sounds good_.

“Well, I was planning to get out of this sector first, so maybe you could guide us back towards our route?”

With a curse, he quickly set the ship back on the path to make the eventual jump.

Even when Finn comes over, a medpac with its bacta patches and other first aid items in his arms, Poe continues to hold on to her hand, delighting in the feel of her warm palm against his, the feel of her thumb rubbing over his knuckles, the occasional squeezes between the two as if reminding them they were together once again.

Finn fishes out the items needed to clean Rey’s wound, before arching an eyebrow at the other two. “Maybe you could give me a little room to work here?”

Rey just grins up at Finn and clutches Poe’s hand a little tighter even as she shifts in her seat to bring the injured arm closer to Finn.

Finn sighs. “Not going to make this easy on me, huh? Let me tell you, I’ve had to bandage a Wookie up before. This is nothing.”

Finn removes the fabric he had wound around her arm back in the command center to slow the bleeding, and begins to clean out the blaster wound. It’s Poe’s turn now to squeeze Rey’s hand. He’s been here before. He knows how painful a wound like this is, and he makes soothing noises to her as she winces.

As Finn finishes up, and the pain begins to diminish, Rey winks at Poe playfully. “Now we’ve got matching scars.”

“I’d rather you not have any scars at all,” Poe replies, easily, truthfully, as he gazes at his love, sitting safely next to him.

Finn sighs, heavily. “You two are going to be even more disgustingly insufferable now, aren’t you?”

Rey turns to Finn and grins. “Aww, feeling left out? You can hold our hands once you wash yours off.”

“Disgustingly insufferable.” But then Finn leans down and presses a kiss to Rey’s temple. “I’m glad you’re okay though. Both of you.”

Finn leaves to dispose of his gloves and the remnants of the kit, returning moments later to settle into the seat behind Rey. As Finn relaxes into his seat, he rests a hand on BB-8’s dome, who’s barely left Rey’s side since they had found her earlier.

Rey breaks the silence a moment later, concern lacing her voice. “Were you able to get the Falcon quickly? Nothing was missing, right?”

Finn laughs. “If we hadn’t and parts were gone, Chewie would never forgive us. And I like having all my arms, thank you very much.”

Quiet descends over them once more, but then Poe, unable to takes his eyes off Rey, sees her bite her lip. “Do we need to get back immediately?” She’s clearly leading up to something, but he’s not quite sure what it could be.

Finn furrows his brow as he thinks. “Not really. You’ve uploaded all the data, right Bee?” The droid chirps in affirmation. “And Jannah is taking care of the prisoners, and she can comm if she needs something. Why? What are you thinking?”

“Could we make a quick pit stop? There’s something I want to grab. Something I left behind.”

Melancholy descends over Rey’s face then, a certain hesitation. But there’s also something else there too. Something pleading, something hopeful.

Suddenly, Poe understands her unspoken request, and within seconds, he’s putting the recalculated hyperdrive coordinates into the computer. He also can’t resist teasing his friend a little. “Hey, Finn. Guess what?”

Understanding then dawns on Finn’s face too. “Don’t say it, Dameron.”

“Guess where we’re going.”

“Poe . . .”

The groan that Finn lets out as they jump into hyperspace is loud, but not nearly as loud as the laughter that fills up the cockpit after.

***

Once more, the Falcon lands on the blazing hot sands of Jakku. The sun remains just above the horizon, the sky taking on a pale, golden hue, as day begins to turn to dusk.

“Wait here,” Rey says, squeezing Poe’s hand with hers before letting go and walking towards her old home, the place that had sheltered her as a child and a young woman, before she met BB-8 and Finn and Poe.

She needs to do this alone, this final goodbye.

With her friends waiting for her outside, she climbs back up to the top of the old AT-AT, where she had entered just days before. Lowering herself in, she blinks quickly to adjust to the sudden darkness, and takes in the place she used to know as home.

This time there is no impending meeting with the First Order. No worry that she’ll be taken by surprise. Still, she doesn’t particularly feel a need to take it all in like she had before. This place had taught her a great many things, and she knows she’ll always carry those lessons with her, but this place is now her past, just a part of her old life. She studies the slash marks on the wall, but the sharp stab of pain and loneliness she used to feel every evening is no longer there. She thinks her boys waiting for her outside— _and her ducklings too_ , she thinks fondly—have helped heal the pain into something less harsh. While she knows the dull ache she feels likely will never leave her entirely, she knows it’s far more bearable with them by her side.

Turning her back on the marks, she covers the few feet between her and what she came here for. She places the helmet inside her bag, and then nestles her old pilot’s doll in there too. Then, last, she carefully rests the old spinebarrel flower on top. It survived this long; it deserves a new home too.

She shifts her bag of belongings to sit more securely on her shoulder and whispers one final goodbye to this place she used to call home.

Then she pulls herself out of the old AT-AT, shielding her eyes and squinting back towards where her friends stand, where her love stands. As her vision clears, she sees them before her, smiles gracing their faces as if welcoming her back, as if she had been gone ages instead of just mere minutes.

With Jakku’s sun setting behind her, she strides forward, putting one foot in front of the other as she leaves this place behind for good until she’s once more at their side.

She grasps Poe’s hand in hers and smiles at them all. In those mere minutes she had been inside, she had missed them too.

Poe’s smile gentles, turning into something softer and a bit lopsided as he gazes at her, eyes full of affection that she thinks she could never get enough of. “What now, sunshine?”

She smiles back at him. “Let’s go home.”

***

“Jakku? You really had to go to Jakku?” Kes wrinkles his nose in consternation. “But all that sand . . .”

“That’s what I said! Why does—” Finn begins, thrusting his hands out in dismay, even as Poe and Rey join in to finish with him, “—everyone want to go back to Jakku!”

“I’m just saying I prefer all this,” Kes says, waving towards the jungle trees surrounding the clearing. “I think I even prefer Hoth itself over the desert.”

Rey grins, before turning her face towards the soft evening sky, a tapestry of oranges and blues and purples, as the sound of animals hooting in the trees and insects buzzing as they work fills the warm, lush air. “Me too.”

And she does. She may have lived on Jakku for more than a decade, created a space for herself on that harsh, barren planet, but this? Yavin? The people she loved and adored here with her?

She much prefers Yavin to any other place she’s ever been. This is home. This is her family. And now, sitting around the fire pit, Poe and Finn to either side of her, Kes and Rose and Chewie, Iolo and Karé, and even Jessika Pava coming in for the festivities sitting nearby, not to mention the mountains of food prepared by Kes and Poe and her (well, mostly the two men; she knows she’s not the best in the kitchen, but she supervised and taste tested everything) on the picnic table behind her—

_Yes. This is home._

BB-8 warbles beside her, D-O beside him chirping in agreement.

Rey leans over and pats the top of BB-8’s dome. “I bet you do prefer it here. The woolamanders are pretty great. And all that sand in your bearings after Jakku must have been really uncomfortable until we got you cleaned up.”

BB-8 quickly unleashes another volley of chirps and beeps, before rolling over to gently nudge her leg. “Of course, I wasn’t going to let you stay all uncomfortable. I’m just sorry we couldn’t get you to a proper oil bath back then.” She leans over to adjust his antenna. “You definitely deserved it.”

“So what’s next?” Rose asks, as she looks over the fire pit at Rey.

“Well, first, we gotta get Poe through the inspection at the academy next week. Someone decided to play hooky recently and is a little behind.”

Poe practically spits out his drink. “Played hooky?” He laughs, wagging his finger at her. “Oh, I get it. You know what you are?”

Rey grins at him. “What am I?”

“You’re difficult. You’re a very difficult woman.”

Her smile only grows. “I know.”

Poe smiles back at her and reaches out for her hand, bringing it up to his lips to give it a quick kiss.

“Of course, I did stress-eat my entire stockpile of snacks in my desk trying to get things up to snuff in _someone’s_ absence,” Karé drawls, taking a sip of her drink as she stares in Poe’s direction.

“I can still make you run laps around base,” Poe retorts.

“No, you can’t.”

For a brief moment, Poe stares back at Karé, an eyebrow arched, but then he sighs, slumping back into his seat, even as he smiles fondly at his friend. “No, I can’t. You’re right.”

“And?” Karé prompts.

“And I’ll replenish your stockpile.”

Karé smirks. “Good man. As if you and Iolo don’t raid it enough.”

Poe just dips his head in acknowledgment.

“So after Poe gets more snacks for Karé and you—” Rose says, and Rey just grins at Poe at the comment, knowing she’ll definitely receive a benefit from Poe’s snack run, thank you very much “—what happens after that?”

“In a few more months, the school should be ready. But before that?” Rey squeezes Poe’s hand still clasped in hers. “I have to make a few trips first.”

“What for?”

In a few days, she and Chewie will be taking the Falcon across the galaxy to visit a few of the villages that holds Force sensitive children. The Force is guiding her there, whispering its intentions to her, to teach and guide those children to serve not just the Force, but their communities and the galaxy at large. She’ll be offering them the chance to come to Yavin, along with their families, in the hopes that one day the light and its protectors will spread throughout the galaxy once more.

And if it just so happens to be many of the same villages on the list obtained by the First Order and then subsequently wrenched from their grasp?

All the better.

Another blow has been dealt against the remnants of the First Order, against the darkness that threatens to gain another foothold in a galaxy traumatized by wars. The fight will never truly be over; there can be no light without darkness, nor darkness without light. But if there’s something she learned on Jakku, with the Resistance, with Leia and Luke, Poe and Finn, and so many other of her friends and family by her side, it is this: the light isn’t a fixed point. One must always work for it, making a choice to be better, for the galaxy to be better. And while there may always be darkness, there will also always be people fighting to preserve and strengthen that light.

Rey remembers a young woman, eyes pleading, asking her to help them, to help them find a way to make sure that the First Order—or anyone intent on harming them—couldn’t hurt them again.

She had told her at the first sign of trouble she would return.

The feeling that she had left something undone there had haunted her ever since. It’s only now that the feeling has eased, fading away as she found her purpose by founding the school.

She knows where her first stop will be.

Rey smiles at Rose. “A school isn’t a school without students.”

Kes claps his hands together. “And what a brilliant school it’s going to be!”

“A brilliant school with a brilliant teacher!” Finn calls out as he grasps Rey’s shoulder to give her a little shake, her cheeks flushing at the sudden “Hear, hears!” that cry out from around the fire.

As the flames flicker away and the stars begin to light up the night sky, Kes and Poe crack open the bottles of Corellian whiskey and Toniray wine that they had found in the Falcon.

After everyone’s cup had been filled, it’s Kes who holds up his glass. “A toast first, I think?”

They all hold up their glasses as the weight of the evening, the recent fight against the First Order, the fight to get here to this very moment, suddenly fills the air.

“To Leia, Han, and Luke,” Kes says simply, his voice full with the intensity of his emotions. Chewie echoes their names, his usual rumbles clouded with pain at the memory of his lost friends.

Poe picks up from there. Even to this day, his father’s lingering grief makes it hard for him to say her name. But he knows what his father is thinking. It’s the same thing he is too. “To Shara Bey, and to you, dad.”

There’s a look exchanged between father and son in that moment, intense and private, as they share a pain only the two of them know.

BB-8 joins in next, and Poe grins. “Yes, to R2-D2 and Threepio too.”

Rose lifts her glass a little higher as her voice rises into the air. “To the Resistance, and to the ones who, despite all the dangers, turned their back on the First Order,” Rose says, before taking in a deep, grounding breath. “And to Paige.”

Finn gives her a nod and a soft smile, the weight of their shared moments visible in his look. Then it’s his turn to speak, to celebrate and mourn in equal measure. “To a pilot who gave me a chance, and a name. To him and a scavenger who gave me a family, and the support to figure out just who I am.”

“To Snap,” Karé says, her voice thick with her own lingering grief. Iolo, sitting next to her, clasps her hand in his, attempting to give her strength and support, even if nothing will ever fully heal the wound left behind by the loss of her husband. Still, despite the tears shining in her eyes, she sets her shoulders and finishes, “And to all those who came to help when the galaxy needed them most.”

As Karé finishes, Iolo’s voice fills the air. “To the ones we lost, and the ones who continue to fight.”

Then their eyes all turn towards Rey. She’s reminded of everyone and everything they lost, but also of everything they gained. Most of all, she’s reminded of what she learned from Luke and Leia, and everything that has brought her to this very moment

The air grows soft and silent, as if even the crackling fire and the animals in the forest pause to listen to her. Her eyes briefly rest on the bright stars glittering above her, looking at and then through them to the spaces in between, before returning to her friends and family gathered around her. She smiles. “To the light, and the dreams of a bright future filled with peace and possibilities. And most of all, to hope.”

Everyone raises their glasses a little further, their eyes turning towards the night sky, and before drinking, echo Rey:

“To hope.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're almost at the end now, the only thing left is the epilogue! For everyone who has been reading and commenting through it all, thank you so, so much, it really is very much appreciated! <3


	21. Epilogue

_Six months later_

“If someone asked me how I got here, I couldn’t even begin to imagine where to start.” At times, it all still feels overwhelming as she remembers the path that has led her to this moment, from the sands of Jakku, to her first real introduction to so much green on Takodana, and now all this _life_ on Yavin.

Rey looks out at the clearing filled with various beings from across the galaxy, young and old alike. Twenty younglings have accepted her invitation to attend her school this year, with twenty families joining them on Yavin. The clearing is thick with them all now. It’s a celebration and a greeting all in one, as they all finally meet each other, and a handful of others from the community. Even Poe’s former squad mates and Kes, along with Finn and Jannah, join them too.

She can feel Poe’s gaze on her as they sit on a small bench at the outskirts of the field. She turns to meet his eyes as she tries to find the words to share the strangeness and wonder of it all. “When I was a kid, I used to have these dreams. Except they were more than dreams. There was a power behind them, a clarity, that only came during those moments.”

“What did you dream of?”

She feels a bit melancholy as she remembers a conversation with Luke long ago. She shoves aside other memories that flit at the edges, the feeling of being bound to a table as jagged fingers tore into her mind and forced memories to the surface when she was tortured by Kylo Ren, the vague sensory impressions of her biological parents, a throne shrouded in darkness. She’s surrounded by so much joy now, so much love, that she doesn’t want to sully it with the memories of those moments. “I dreamed of an island in the ocean, high mountain peaks framed by raging waves, rain and gloomy skies, an ancient tree holding a vast store of knowledge. It was Ahch-To. It was those dreams that led me to Luke. And I had seen white plains streaked with red, like I was a bird looking down from high above. That was Crait. I think I dreamed of those places because that’s where I needed to be. They were preparing me for what I needed to do.”

“And now?”

“Now I dream of happier things. More pleasant things,” she says softly. A quiet moment passes between the two, then she bumps him with her shoulder. She gazes at him teasingly, a suggestion behind her eyes, as she says, “Now I dream of you.”

Poe’s eyes crinkle at the corners in amusement. “Oh yeah?”

She hums. “Possibly.” As if she didn’t dream about him most nights.

“You’ll have to tell me about them later.” Poe winks at her, a suggestion behind his own eyes, before it mellows into something soft and sweet. “What else?”

“I dream of all of you really. I sometimes dream of . . . my old life,” she says diplomatically, not wanting to stir up any more sad memories for either of them. Sometimes she sees him flinch, agonized, when she tells him about her childhood, even as he provides a steady, comforting presence beside her. Still, his hand grasps hers, and squeezes gently. She can’t help but return it, her heart aching with affection and an indescribable, incandescent love. “Sometimes of Ahch-To and Ajan Koss. Sometimes Luke and Leia are there too, or even Han. Sometimes it’s nonsensical or just plain silly, like I’m back at the bakery and practically swimming in a sea of pastries.” She giggles under her breath. “That was a good dream.”

Poe laughs along with her, the sound laced with affection. “I bet it was.”

“But they’re all just dreams, you know? They can be funny or strange or just plain nice, but everything is . . . dreamlike. The dreams I had before were really just visions. Visions trying to instruct me about where I needed to be.”

“You don’t get them anymore?” Rey shakes her head no at Poe’s question, and then he asks, “Why do you think that is?”

“I think it’s because now I’m where I’m meant to be.” Rey gazes out toward the gathered crowds before turning to Poe. “I’m home now.”

Poe leans in to kiss her softly, and she can’t help but smile into the kiss.

***

 _Home_.

The word echoes and reverberates in his mind. It’s not the first time she’s said it. It’s not the first time she’s implied that Yavin, with her school and his, with Kes and Karé and Iolo, BB-8 and D-O and R2-D2, and with him too, is her home.

He loves her. She’s his home too. He hopes it will always be that way, the two of them growing old together, their family at their side. He can imagine it even now, him old and wrinkled and silvered hair, and Rey as radiant as always.

The ring burns against his chest, the way it so often does nowadays.

He’s going to ask her to marry him, he knows. Just not quite yet.

And, if he’s lucky enough, she might just say yes.

But that moment is not now, not with them sitting across from a field filled with her future students and their families, her school looming like a beacon in the background.

Even if it’s not today, he knows it will be soon.

But first he has another question or two to ask her.

Poe pulls back from the kiss, the words already on the tip of his tongue. “Are you ready to get out of here? I wanna show you something.”

Rey nods. Poe lifts her hand to his lips and presses a kiss to it, before standing and pulling Rey up with him.

They quickly say their goodbyes, Kes even trying to wink discreetly at Poe as they do (and honestly, he should never have told his dad his plans. He’s terrible at keeping secrets around Rey). Then he begins to lead her in the direction of the homestead. She must think they’re going home, maybe to take advantage of some time alone in these last few hours of quiet before school starts, as she begins to turn one way down a fork in the path.

“Wait,” he urges, and inclines his head the other way. “I want to show you something.”

Her eyes rove over his face, curiosity reflected in her gaze, but she quickly agrees. The path soon begins to rise gently up, before it crests and they’re standing in a large clearing atop a short hill.

It’s a view he’s been accustomed to ever since childhood and he watches in rapt attention as Rey’s eyes widen and she slowly spins around, her mouth slightly agape with wonder. He smiles in awe himself, even though his eyes never leave Rey.

He clears his throat, suddenly overwhelmed with emotion. “My mom discovered this place back when she and my dad first came to Yavin after serving. When my mom was still alive, we would spend whole days out here, hiking the trails nearby and telling stories. And afterwards we would gorge ourselves on dad’s cooking.”

Rey grasps his hand in hers as she looks at him with those beautiful eyes of hers, the stars above reflected in them. He grins at her, in an attempt to stave off some of the melancholy overtaking them from his story. “Mom tried to cook, but her food was always absolutely terrible.”

She laughs gently, the sound of it perfectly melding in with the peacefulness of the clearing.

“But we loved it here. I loved it here. There’s a part of me that always wanted adventure, wanted to go off world. A part of me will always belong to the stars. But I find that here, I can see them absolutely perfectly.”

He watches as her gaze drifts upwards, her lips tilting into a breathtaking smile as she takes in the same view that always filled him with peace and wonder. “It’s an incredible view.”

“It really is. And that’s not all. Look at what else we can see from here.” He curves his arm around her shoulders until she’s tucked into his side, her warmth warding off the faint chill of the evening breeze. He guides them until they’re facing toward the temple, its spire stretching up towards the night sky. He hums in contemplation. “Glad to see that the cadets haven’t burned the place down in my absence.”

Rey’s burst of laughter delights him to no end. He presses a kiss to her temple, before guiding her to face the opposite direction.

“And a few weeks ago, I noticed that from here you can also see this.”

“My school,” she sighs, pleased, the faint light of the torches and the silhouettes of the few people remaining at the celebration visible in the distance. His eyes are on her all the while, and he sees the moment she realizes it, as she looks over her shoulder back towards the temple, before lifting her eyes to his again. “Are we . . . is it?” Her brow furrows in question, her lips on the edge of smiling once more as she waits for him to confirm it.

“I had BB-8 scan the distance. We’re halfway between the two.”

“You’re kidding?”

He smiles, wide and full, at her obvious astonishment. “Not even a bit. You can check Bee’s readouts if you want. We’re halfway between the two.” He then guides her to face another point visible in the distance. “And you can also see the homestead from here.”

Her eyes follow his finger as he points, and she grins, her head shaking with bewildered mirth. “I can’t even believe it. You can see it all from here.”

He moves to stand in front of her. He wants to see her face full on now, to let her see him and the truth of what he’s saying, everything he can’t quite verbalize, all the things he can’t quite find the words for. He’s been called silver-tongued before, but there are times he wishes he wasn’t just a pilot, but maybe a poet too, someone who could put into words everything that can’t quite be said.

He shuffles his feet instead, and looks into her eyes. He may not be a poet, but at the least, he can try. “This spot is halfway between your school and the training academy. Halfway between two of the reasons that brought us here, to this moment. You said it yourself, the view is incredible, and for me, that’s exactly why it is. It’s because all of this has led to this moment. To us being here together. And, if you’re open to it, that’s why I want to build a house here.”

He takes another step forward, bridging the space between them. He’s close enough to where he can gaze deeply into her eyes, her breath mingling with his between them. “Not just a house though. I want to build a home here for us. A place for us to build new memories. And I was wondering how you might feel about that?”

He bites his lip, suddenly indescribably nervous, his heart thudding in his chest.

But then a smile blossoms on her face, and it’s sweeter than any Yavinese flower he’s ever seen. It’s like the sunrise, distilled down onto the face of the most beautiful, most wonderous creature he’s ever beheld in his life.

“You want to build a home for us?”

He nods eagerly, his eyes never leaving her face.

She springs forward, and then he’s stumbling backwards with an armful of Rey. She presses kiss after kiss to his cheek, his temple, his jaw, and finally to his lips, over and over again, and she’s laughing, and then he’s laughing, and it crescendos into one of the most joyous sounds he’s ever heard.

“Is that a yes?” His voice might sound teasing, but he needs to hear it too. He needs that final confirmation that his dreams are coming true. It all feels so unreal.

“Kriff, yes it is, you big idiot. I would love it.” Even now, her arms remain tightly wrapped around him, rocking them back and forth. Her head is tucked into his neck, and he feels her smile against his skin.

“It’ll take a while to get all the materials and such, and of course to make the plans—”

“You think Kes will draw up the plans for us?” she asks as her head pops up from his shoulder, clearly excited at working with Kes again.

He laughs. “I think he’d be offended if we didn’t ask him. But you know what that means.”

“What?” she asks, staring at him wide-eyed.

“It means we have to figure out what we want in the house. How many rooms, how big you want them—”

“We need a backyard,” she gasps out. He can practically feel her excitement thrumming through her. “I want a garden. A place for a large garden.” She bites her lip, suddenly uncertain. “Is that okay?”

“Of course that’s okay. This place is ours. Whatever you want, we’ll build it.” He moves behind her and wraps his arms around her waist. He rests his head on her shoulder so they can both gaze out at the clearing and dream of their future together. He presses a quick kiss to her throat. “What else do you want?”

“Green walls, like the forest,” she says, her voice becoming steadily louder, the words rushing together in her excitement. “Oh! It needs a ramp for the droids!”

His own excitement ramps up along with hers. “That’s an excellent idea. What else?”

“What about a place to study? Not to train, but like the office at the house? Oh! And large windows!”

She laughs giddily and spins in his arms, pressing herself against him enthusiastically. The kiss is messy, their teeth clacking against each other, but he can’t stop smiling, and he’s thrilled that it seems neither can she.

He wants to make her this happy every day of her life. And one day soon, in the home they’ve made together, he’s going to get down on one knee and ask her to marry him. He has a plan, but with the way she feels in his arms, pressed against him, their joy mingling together, he can’t help but wonder just how fast the house—their home—can be completed, and if there was any way to speed up that timetable.

Even as they make their way down the moonlit path back to the house, Rey keeps his hand grasped in hers, swinging them back and forth. She tells him about all her hopes and dreams for what they could do with the house, how many rooms, what it’d look like, what it would mean for them. It seems she’s thinking about the future too. About what comes next. There’s a subtle implication in her words that he doesn’t miss, a hope to bind their futures together and children of their own one day, with space enough to house them all.

His heart overflows with love and affection for her. The prospect of children was a conversation he knew they’d need to have soon, but it fills him with joy to hear it now. It’s just another way that their paths and their dreams have aligned. During the height of the war, he had put the dream of his own family to the side. Fighter pilots weren’t exactly known for their longevity. But now . . .

Now he can almost see them.

He knows it’s not always going to be this simple. Things won’t always slot together this easily, like a missing puzzle piece sliding into place. They’re both too stubborn by half, too used to doing things by themselves.

But they’ve both come a long way.

As they nestle into bed together, side by side, he can still feel the way her giddiness runs through her, even if she didn’t break the silence every few minutes with a hushed whisper in the dark that does nothing to conceal her excitement.

Maybe telling her about this the night before her school was set to open wasn’t the best idea, as he worries that she might be tired in the morning.

But with the way she keeps whispering her hopes and dreams to him, and he whispers his back, eager to share their hearts with each other, he knows that whatever difficulties they face in the future, they can face them head on.

They’ve overcome so much and survived.

And now? Now the rest of their life can begin.

Together.

***

The last time she had looked at the clock in the darkened bedroom it had been in the early hours of the morning. Poe had been softly stroking her hair, his movements becoming slower and clumsier, until his breath had evened out and she knew he had fallen asleep. She had followed shortly after, even as she clutched tight to the warm bubble that had set up in her chest the moment he told her about his plans for their home.

 _Their home._ She feels fit to burst with how impossibly happy it makes her.

She giggles softly as she relives the moment last night in the clearing once again even as she’s walking down the path to her school.

She thinks she should be more tired, but she just feels so _alive_ right now. In fact, she feels positively decadent imagining it all. And maybe it’s too much, but Poe keeps encouraging her to tell him what she wants for their home, what she dreams of. On Jakku, just having a few simple possessions seemed to be the most she could hope for.

It feels almost impossible to fully comprehend everything that has led her here.

Jakku had been a barren wasteland filled with junk, garbage that meant next to nothing to the galaxy. In her darkest moments, when she was something far past alone and lonely, she thought that was all she was too. Garbage left to rot amongst the coarse sand and abysmal heat of the planet. Only a dried flower, a doll dressed as a pilot, and a helmet to remind her that good and light remained in the galaxy, to leave her with enough hope to get through the endless days.

And in the endless nights, she dreamed of family. She dreamed of adventure.

Then an orange and white, one of a kind droid had rolled into her life and suddenly hope flared bright and she grasped onto it with both hands.

She found the adventure easily enough. As war raged in the galaxy, light against dark, she threw herself into her training, and the Force had blazed to life within her.

It took her a little longer to find her path and her purpose though.

She had tried to hold on to Maz Kanata’s words, that the belonging she sought was not behind her, but ahead. But then Kylo Ren had dashed those hopes in a few terrible words. She was nothing, a nobody. She had no place in the story. What crueler words could be spoken to a girl who had been left behind, alone for ages, with responsibility and _destiny_ suddenly thrust upon her when a lightsaber had called out to her.

But destiny didn’t mean belonging.

She stops along the path and closes her eyes, raising her face toward the sky and taking a deep breath as the sun’s rays warm her skin.

She had struggled for a long time trying to reconcile her identity as the last Jedi, the person destined to restore peace and light to a galaxy bereft of it, with the idea that she might always be alone.

But she had been wrong about that.

She knows better now. The path hadn’t been leading her away from her family. It had been leading her _toward_ them.

On her back in the darkness of Exegol, she had looked up to see her family fighting in the sky above her, then gazed further, past the very stars themselves, where the voices of past Jedi set fire to the fragile hope inside her. She wasn’t alone. She had never been alone.

And it hadn’t just been the Force, that spark of light she had carried with her always, that connected her with all that came before and all that will come after. No, she has Finn and Rose and Jannah who continue to work for peace, to reunite families who had been struggling with their grief for far too long. She has Leia and Han and Luke, who taught her to accept herself for who she is _and_ who she could be, who helped guide her way, and whose memories help guide her even now. She has BB-8 and D-O, her ducklings who care for her and who make sure she never feels lonely. She has Kes, who has become so dear to her, and something like a father to her in his own way.

And Poe. Her sweet, beloved Poe.

He had offered her a place to stay, and in the end, she had found herself. Her destiny turned into purpose and a path forward. The path forward had led to a school, her own students, a way to teach the lessons that might cause the light to burn as bright in the galaxy as it now burns in her.

And that path had also led to him. It had been leading to him all along. She loves him and he loves her, and they’ll have a home together.

Her path is not a burden with him by her side. With _all_ of them by her side.

She’s never felt happier, in fact. She’s never been filled with so much hope.

She never had reason to look forward to the future when she was on Jakku. The days were filled with endless drudgery, the nights with unfathomable loneliness. There had been no path forward.

But now?

Now, she thinks of Poe and a house on a hill and the future they’re forging together. She thinks of family and friends and a galaxy at peace.

Rey hovers in the doorway of the classroom, _her_ classroom, watching a small group of individuals talking happily with each other, the Force practically swimming with contentment around them all.

_This is right._

She claps her hands together once as she walks in.

“Alright, everyone,” she says, as she turns to face the eager young learners.

She smiles.

“Let’s begin.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that's it for "Land of Hope and Dreams," friends! I've had so much fun writing this and imagining what the galaxy far, far away would look like after we last saw it in The Rise of Skywalker. Thank you for reading and for all your lovely feedback, it's always much appreciated!


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